Delhi is yet again in the news for rape, but abduction and kidnapping of women and girls are reported nearly twice as much in the Capital.

According to the Delhi Police, one woman is kidnapped or abducted on an average every two hours. At the same time, the police register a rape case every four hours. "This data primarily includes kidnapping of minor girls. Places like Outer, Northeast and East Delhi witness the most cases of kidnapping and abduction. Minor girls are abducted by human traffickers for flesh trade as well," a deputy commissioner level officer told MAIL TODAY.

According to the data, the police registered 1,686 rape cases in Delhi this year till November 15. The number of abduction cases stood at 3,589 in the same period.

Interestingly, the police claim that such high figures of crime against women are due to streamlining of the FIR registration process. "The high rate of crime against women in Delhi can be attributed to the fact that the registration of rape, molestation and other crimes against women has increased as an outcome of increased awareness of general public," Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary had said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

According to the Delhi Police, 40 cases of crime against women are registered daily on an average. As many as 13,230 cases of crime against women have been registered so far this year in Delhi. The figure stood at 11,479 cases in the same period last year.

"In Delhi, Commissioner B.S. Bassi has issued various guidelines so that cases of crime against women are registered without any delay. In cases of rape and kidnapping, DCPs monitor each case personally," a police officer said.

Besides kidnapping and abduction, molestation cases are also much higher than sexual assault cases. The Delhi Police has registered 3,832 cases of molestation so far this year in Delhi. More than 2,600 cases of domestic violence were registered and 141 dowry deaths reported in the same period.

(indiatoday)