Cases have been filed in Asoha, Ajgain, Makhi and Bangarmau in Unnao for rape, assault. (File)

With 86 rape cases having been reported in Unnao from January to November this year, this district now qualifies to be known as the "rape capital" of Uttar Pradesh.

Unnao, with a population of about 31 lakhs, is located about 63 km from Lucknow and around 25 km from Kanpur.

According to reports, 185 cases of sexual harassment of women have also been reported from this district during the same period.

Some of the prominent cases, apart from that of Kuldeep Sengar and the Thursday's incident in which the rape victim was set ablaze, are the rape of a woman in Purwa for which the FIR was lodged on November 1 this year.

Cases have been filed in Asoha, Ajgain, Makhi and Bangarmau in Unnao for rape and molestation.

In most cases, the accused have either been arrested and released on bail or are absconding.

The local people blame the police for the prevailing state of affairs.

"The police in Unnao have become completely politicised. They do not move an inch unless they have the permission of their political bosses. This attitude is encouraging criminals," said Raghav Ram Shukla, a resident of Ajgain.

"Crime is egged on by politics here. Politicians are using crime to settle political scores and the police remain their stooges. Even when farmers resorted to violence over land acquisition for a new township recently, they remained on the defensive. There has not been one incident in which the police have acted tough," said a local lawyer.