There is so much that Delhi takes pride in, its bustling bazaars, cultural influences, monuments, food, history and colleges. But that's too heavy a price to pay for safety, especially by women. It's going to be ten years since the Nirbhay gang rape incident in Delhi and it's not even been twenty days since the soul-shaking news of a twenty-year-old woman being raped and paraded in Delhi hit the headlines. And yet another incident of failed abduction of a girl comes to light. The Capital, sure enough, continues to be consistent in keeping its women unsafe.
Two criminals allegedly made an attempt to abduct a minor girl in the national capital on Wednesday. A police official confirming the same, also said, "The incident occurred on January 31, Monday at around 7.30 p.m at South Delhi's Begampur area."
Deputy Commissioner of Police Benita Mary Jaiker added that a PCR call was received on Monday at 8.40 p.m from Begampur informing that a 11-year-old girl was taken away by two unknown persons. The DCP said the police staff reached the spot immediately.
"We reached the spot where mother of the victim reported that at about 7.30 p.m she was inside her home, while her daughter was standing on stairs outside." When the two men tried abducting the minor, she started screaming and crying loudly. Just as the mother rushed out, on hearing the screams, she found two men in their mid-twenties trying to forcibly take her daughter away. The mother raised an alarm, the crowd gathered and managed nabbing one of the accused, while the other fled.
A case under Section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and Section 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered. Investigations are underway to figure out the motive behind the abduction and efforts are being made to arrest the other accused as well.
Similar attempt, only last year
In yet another daring rescue, last July a mother managed saving her four-year-old daughter. In the video of the incident that emerged a day after the incident took place, the mother can be seen fighting off two men. It also shows a man picking up the girl from inside her house, while the other one waits outside on the motorcycle. The incident took place in Delhi's Shakarpur area and was captured by CCTV cameras installed in the street. The mother fortunately showed courage and presence of mind as she threw the motorcycle off balance thus barring kidnapers from escaping. Later police investigation showed that one of the kidnappers turned out to be the minor girl's uncle.
How safe is Delhi for women?
Whatever Delhi has to offer, takes a backseat when it comes to the safety of women. There are lanes, timings and alleys to steer clear of. And for an outside woman, not aware of survival skills required typically in the Capital, working in it, using public transport, local commutes and even street corners can be a nightmare.
Little wonder, there are thousands of self-help groups and blogs by women that'll paint a true picture of how safe/unsafe is Delhi. Many such forums are a platform where women have come forward to share their horror stories of failed rape and abduction attempts. The ones that fortunately didn't make it to headlines.
Statistics speak louder than words
There's a reason why it's been renamed as "Crime Capital." As per NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data 2020, it is the most unsafe city for women. Delhi's data in 2020 is more than twice the number of cases registered in Mumbai, Pune, Ghaziabad, Bangalore or Indore. In 2020, as many as 9,782 cases were registered for violence against women. The rate of crime, occurring per 1,00,000 population against women in 2020 was 129.1.
