Agartala, Sept. 11: Tripura has been witnessing an alarming rise in crimes against women.

Chief minister Manik Sarkar, who also holds the home portfolio, admitted this in reply to a query by Opposition leader Ratanlal Nath in the Assembly today.

According to statistics, 291 minor girls were raped in the state between January 1, 2004 and June 30 this year. “In 2004, 77 girls had been raped, while the figure rose to 84 in 2005 and 99 last year. Till June 30 this year, 31 girls have been raped,” Sarkar said.

In the same period, 305 women have been raped, with a rise every year. Replying to supplementary questions raised by Opposition MLAs, the chief minister said altogether 1,473 incidents of crime have been reported in the state during the past three-and-a-half years. In 2004, police stations in the state registered 302 incidents of crimes against women, while 440 and 471 such incidents were registered in the next two years. Till June 30 this year, 260 incidents of crimes against women have been recorded by police stations in the state.

Moreover, according to police records, 1,042 people have committed suicide in the state in the past three-and-a-half years till June 30 this year.

The chief minister’s reply evoked protests from the Opposition against the alleged failure of the government to control the crime rate, but the chief minister assured the House that steps were being taken to check the crime rate.

Talking to mediapersons, Nath blamed the state government and police for the spurt in the crime rate.