According to the latest figures, rape cases in the entire country have increased by 9.2 percent in 2011
NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) - New Delhi plans to set up fast track courts to deal more effectively with cases of sexual violence in a city which has become known as India's "rape capital" due to the increasing attacks on women, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.
The report said local authorities would be discussing the proposal - which would allow for at least five special rape courts tasked with trying all cases within six months - on Tuesday.
"It has been proposed that five special courts under additional district and session judges will be set up in five districts to look into rape and sexual assault cases," an unnamed senior official from the Delhi government was quoted as saying. "We have been pressing for this for quite some time."
According to the latest figures from the National Crime Record Bureau, rape cases in the entire country have increased by 9.2 percent to 24,206 cases in 2011 from 22,172 the previous year.
But these figures are just the tip of the ice-berg, say women’s rights groups, with most women still afraid to report rape cases, fearing they will be stigmatised and bring dishonour on their families in this largely patriarchal country.
New Delhi, with 16 million people, has the highest number of sex crimes amongst all India's megacities which include Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai. According to police figures, a woman is raped every 18 hours or molested every 14 hours in the capital.
Increasing reports of rapes in New Delhi has in recent years fuelled public anger against such crimes with many activists demanding the police do more to keep women in the city safe.
There have been frequent newspaper reports of women coming late from work and being bundled into moving cars and gang-raped before being dumped on roadsides.
Many rapes of minors are being committed by people known to the victims – often neighbours and relatives, the police say.
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