Even as the national capital retained the title of India's "rape capital", the number of crime shot up by nearly 26 per cent in 2014 as compared to the previous year, the latest National Crime Records Bureau data shows. The country's largest state, Madhya Pradesh, topped the list among the 36 states and union territories, while Nagaland was found to be the safest for women with 30 cases.

The sharp rise in the number of cases of rape in the national capital was much more than the country's nearly 11 per cent rise. The number of cases of rape in India increased to 37,413 (per one lakh of the population) in 2014 from 33,707 in 2013.

Shockingly, as per the NCRB data, 524 girls under the age of six became rape victims across the country.

Among the 53 top cities listed by the NCRB, Delhi stood first again as far as the number of rapes in 2014 is concerned.

As per the NCRB statistics for 2014, Delhi reported as many as 1,813 rape cases (per one lakh of the population), followed by Mumbai with 607 rape cases. With three rape cases, Tiruchirappali emerged as the safest city for women. (Link to the official data).

Ironically, Delhi had topped the list in 2013 as well with 1,441 cases of rape per one lakh of the population.

Among the states, the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh finished at the top with the highest 5,076 reported cases of rape in 2014. It was followed by another BJP-ruled state Rajasthan with 3,759 cases of rape.

The Samajwadi Party ruled Uttar Pradesh, which also often makes it to headlines over the incidents of sexual crimes against women, recorded a count of 3,467 cases, closely followed by Maharashtra at 3,438 rapes. Uttar Pradesh, however, witnessed the highest number of cases of custodial rape, which stood at 189. (Link to the official data)

While north-eastern state Nagaland recorded the lowest cases of rape in 2014, Assam had a contrasting figure of 1,980 incidents during the year.

A comparison between the statistics of 2013 and 2014 shows how the situation worsened over the year:

                                                     CASES OF RAPE IN CITIES

                                           CITY                   2014              2013                                

                                           Delhi                  1,813              1,441

                                           Mumbai              607                 391

                                          Bengaluru          104                  80

                                           Kolkata               36                    75

                                           Chennai              65                    83

                                           Bhopal                178                  131

                                          Hyderabad         126                  101

                                          Indore                 185                   133

                                          Jaipur                  263                   192

                                          Nagpur                113                    91

                                         Pune                    189                   171

                                         Ahmedabad       100                   116 

                                                  CASES OF RAPE IN STATES

                                         STATE                 2014               2013                                     

                                   Madhya Pradesh      5,076              4,335

                                   Rajasthan                  3,759               3,285

                                   Uttar Pradesh           3,467              3,050

                                   Maharashtra            3,438              3,063

                                   Delhi                         2,096              1,636

                                   Assam                     1,980               1,937

                                   Nagaland                 30                   31

                                   Bihar                         1,127              1,128

                                  Chhattisgarh            1,436               1,380

                                  Gujarat                      841                732

                                  Haryana                    1,174               971

                                  Karnataka                 1,324              1,030

                                  Odisha                       1,978               1,832

                                  Punjab                        981                  888

                                 Tamil Nadu                1,110                923

                                  West Bengal             1,466               1,685