Nearly 4.5 lakh crimes against women were reported across the country in 2023, a marginal increase from the previous two years, with Delhi remaining the most unsafe “mega city” for women for the third consecutive year, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.
Among states, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of cases involving crime against women at 66,381, followed by Maharashtra at 47,101, Rajasthan at 45,450, Bengal at 34,691 and Madhya Pradesh at 32,342.
Crime against Scheduled Tribes rose by around 29 per cent in 2023 as compared to the previous year, with Manipur recording the highest number at 3,399 cases. The northeastern state, which has been rocked by periodic violent clashes for more than two years between the Meitei and the Kuki communities, recorded just one case in 2022 under this category and none in 2021.
The strife in Manipur has left at least 260 dead and over 60,000 displaced, besides altering the demographic landscape with communities forced to relocate between the hills and the valley.
Overall, a total of 4,48,211 crimes against women were reported in 2023 in the country, an increase from 4,45,256 cases in 2022 and 4,28,278 in 2021, according to the figures compiled from police records in states and Union Territories.
Delhi reported 1,088 rape cases, which is the highest among 19 metropolitan cities in India. A total of 13,366 crimes against women were reported in the national capital in 2023 — a decline of 5.59 per cent compared to the previous two years, according to the NCRB report. These include cases of rape, harassment, molestation, dowry harassment and dowry deaths.
The national capital also reported the highest number of murder cases at 503 among metropolitan cities, followed by Bengaluru with 206 and Jaipur with 129, according to the NCRB data.
Cruelty by husband or relatives under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) accounted for the largest share with 1,33,676 cases, followed by kidnapping and abduction of women with 88,605 cases.
Assault on women with intent to outrage modesty found mention in 83,891 cases, while rape in 29,670 cases. Dowry deaths totalled 6,156 cases, abetment to suicide had 4,825 cases and insult to modesty saw 8,823 cases.
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, saw 15,489 cases, while the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, recorded 1,788 cases involving women victims. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, had 632 cases.
Thirty-one cases were lodged under the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. Under the Pocso Act, there were 40,046 cases of child rape, 22,149 of sexual assault, 2,778 of sexual harassment, and 698 of using a child for pornography. Cybercrimes saw a 31.2 per cent increase with 86,420 cases in 2023, compared with 65,893 reported in 2022, the report said.
In 2023, 68.9 per cent of cybercrimes were aimed at defrauding citizens, forming nearly 59,526 of the total 86,420 cases, followed by sexual exploitation, which was at 4.9 per cent with 4,199 cases, and extortion at 3.8 per cent with 3,326 cases, the NCRB report said.
Police disposal statistics revealed 1,85,961 cases were pending investigation from previous years, with 4,48,211 new cases registered and 987 transferred, totalling 635,159 cases. Of these, 1,82,219 were chargesheeted, yielding a chargesheeting rate of 77.6 per cent. Pendency stood at 1,82,219 cases, or 28.7 per cent.
Court disposal data showed 21,84,756 cases were pending trial from prior years, in addition to 3,50,937 new cases and 6,276 reopened, totalling 25,35,693 cases. Pendency at courts reached 23,03,657 cases, or 90.8 per cent.
A total of 6,67,940 persons, comprising 5,87,441 males, 80,490 females, and nine transgenders, were arrested in 2023 for crimes against women.
