Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
The recent death of a class 12th student, Ankita Singh from Jharkhand’s Dumka has sent a wave of shock across the whole nation. According to the police reports, Shahrukh Hussain, a 19-year-old, used to stalk Ankita under the pretense of being in love with her.
The recent death of a class 12th student, Ankita Singh from Jharkhand’s Dumka has sent a wave of shock across the whole nation. According to the police reports, Shahrukh Hussain, a 19-year-old, used to stalk Ankita under the pretense of being in love with her. He was upset with Ankita since she showed no interest in him and avoided him. He doused her in petrol on the 23rd of this month and set her ablaze while she was asleep. Ankita was brought straight to the Phulo Jano medical college and hospital after suffering 90 percent injuries. She passed away on 28th August at around 2:30 am while she was undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Shahrukh, the accused, and Chhotu Khan, another young person who provided him with petrol, were both taken into custody after the police opened an investigation and registered a case against both of them. Both the accused have been charged with murder. Ankita’s body was cremated amid tight security in Dumka on the banks of Mayurakshi River. The Dumka district administration was ordered by Chief Minister Hemant Soren to give the deceased family an immediate assistance of Rs. 10 lakh. The National Commission for Women also took a serious note of the situation and has called for a fair investigation in to the matter in a letter addressed to the CM of Jharkhand.
This horrifying incident in Jharkhand has once again brought the crimes committed against women in to light. Not just in Jharkhand, women are one of the most vulnerable sections of the society and this has resulted in increasing crimes against women in India despite of number of legal provisions and safeguards. The chart below depicts the statistics of crime against women in India.
Source: National Crime Records Bureau
The chart shows that there is an increase in the crime against women as compared to the previous years. There has been a constant increase in crimes against women in India as in the year 2017, 3,59,849 number of crimes were registered against women and this number sharply increased to 4,05,861 in 2019. The crimes against women witnessed a fall in the year 2020 as the number of crimes stood at 3,71,503 as compared to the previous year’s 4,05,861.The reason for the dip was the covid-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdowns imposed to curtail the spread of the virus and the pandemic. But, post pandemic, in 2021 the number of crimes against women was 4,28,278. This was the highest number of crimes against women reported till date. This data clearly shows that as soon as the life came to a normal post pandemic, the crime was not an exception. In India, in spite of constitutional and legal safeguards, the crimes against women are on a rise. Gender Disparity is one of the deep rooted causes of violence against women. Though government measures and legal measures are necessary for the protection of women, the society in general also needs to understand this and contribute in safeguarding women from crime.
