There are 15 incidents of rape, 31 incidents of kidnapping and hostage taking and 20 incidents of molestation every day in Madhya Pradesh.

Shashikant Tiwari, Naidunia, Bhopal (Crime Against Women in MP). Half of the population of Madhya Pradesh i.e. girls and women feel afraid as soon as they step out of the house. This is the fear of incidents like kidnapping, rape, attempted rape and molestation.

Statistics of last year 2024 show that every day there were 15 incidents of rape, 31 incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking and 20 incidents of molestation in the state. There are many claims of women empowerment and rules and regulations are being made.

These figures scare

Public representatives talk from the stage about reducing crime and promoting daughters, but these figures both scare and warn. Women and girls are frightened by such incidents, which they see and hear every day.

More than 10 thousand cases of hostage taking

In Madhya Pradesh, which has a population of about 8.5 crores, till November last year, 10 thousand 400 cases of kidnapping and hostage-taking of girls and women were reported. That means 31 incidents are happening every day.

It is said that one woman would be affected by the incident, but the truth is that the entire family and every woman who comes to know about the incident gets frightened. The incidents of kidnapping and hostage taking have increased continuously between the year 2022 to 2024.

Rape incidents are above 5 thousand

These are just the figures of kidnapping and hostage-taking. The incidents of rape continued to increase and reached above five thousand in the year 2024. Even though the cases of gang rape have decreased compared to previous years, the number of incidents is more than 200.

Government, society, public representatives, police and related departments will have to deal with the challenges facing women’s safety through special policies and campaigns, otherwise the claims will remain just claims.

Challenges in women’s safety

• No hearing at police station level , The sensitivity with which the police should work in the matter of women’s safety is not visible. There are many such examples in the state that the victim was not heard in the police station. In the same month, a rape victim in Guna was not heard for three months, so she reached the police station with a placard with the names of the accused hanging around her neck.
• weak intelligence system , The police intelligence system has proved weak in matters of women’s safety. Last year in Sidhi, the accused raped seven girls by talking in a woman’s voice through voice changer app, but the police had no clue.
• If not the police then who will provide security? , Out of the sanctioned strength of one lakh 25 thousand police in the state, only one lakh are posted which is much less than the requirement. On top of this, the second thing is that like before, the police are no longer visible on the roads.
• There is no fear of police among criminals , There have been incidents of molestation in front of the police in big cities like Bhopal and Indore. When stopped, the relative was beaten up, but the police considered it a minor incident. This is the reason why there is no fear of police in the minds of criminals. In December 2024, a minor, fed up with molestation, committed suicide in Brick Khedi, Bhopal.
• There is no trust in women police only. , Only about six percent of the total police force in the state are women. Instead of posting them in field postings like police stations, outposts etc., they have been posted in lines or offices.