Crimes against women are on a scary spiral in the city. Rape cases surged 49% in 2014-15 compared to the previous year, and instances of molestation were up 39%, shows a white paper released by NGO Praja on Tuesday . In four years since 2010-11, the city has seen reported rape cases jump 290% and molestation cases rise 247%.

The figures--165 rape cases in 2010-11 to 643 in 201415--can be attributed to some extent to more women coming out to report crimes against them, but the almost 50% jump within a year is a statement of how unsafe Mumbai has become. Compounding the problem is the pathetic conviction rate for rape cases--only 27% for 2014 (the only year for which Praja provided figures) compared to 57% in the UK that year.

On the brighter side, incidents of chain-snatching dropped significantly (44%) in 2014-15 against 2013-14, and cases of theft, stolen vehicles and rioting also fell (See P 4).Cases of murder in 2014-15 rose by a dozen against 201314, but, overall, have dropped over the past four years. The low conviction rate in rape ca ses is a matter of concern. “The conviction rates in Mumbai used to be high three decades ago when the prosecution and the investigators used to be a part of the same agency. Now, inter action and co-ordination between the two have deteriorated,“ said Nitai Mehta, founder and managing trustee of Praja. “If conviction rates are dipping, the state needs to study why and take measures.Strengthen--and where necessary create--infrastructure for continuous training, forensic labs, crime mapping and crime forecasting,“ he added.

A study on how cases of serious crimes move in the sessions court revealed that it takes seven months, on an average, for a chargesheet in a rape ca se to be filed from the date the FIR is registered. “Of the 138 rape cases that were part of the study , 116 turned out to be acquittals. We went through each judgment and looked at the last few paragraphs of the copy for reasons of acquittal. In 105 cases, judges mentioned `failure to prove charges' to be the reason. This means that either the quality of investigation was not up to mark or the prosecution had failed in its job,“ said Milind Mhaske, Praja project director. This study was conducted by Praja along with the Pravin Gandhi Law College between January 2008 and December 2012.

“In offences of a serious nature, parti cularly rape, chargesheets are filed un der the direct responsibility of an officer of the rank of assistant police commissioner and prosecuted only when there is enough evidence and witnesses.Despite that, the conviction rates are low. Former director general of police Sanjeev Dayal had issued an order in May this year to separate investigation and bandobast (law and order) functions at police station level. This order needs to be implemented prudently and resources should be made available at the earliest,“ added Mehta.

Praja's white paper also said there was an overall 11% shortfall in the total police strength. A 25% shortage among investigating officers and 51% among control room staff mean the qua lity of investigation and first response to emergencies are affected. However, DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni, spokesperson of Mumbai police, refuted this and said the re was only a 1.4% overall vacancy .

