delhi

Updated: Sep 21, 2016 11:37 IST

After making headlines as India’s rape capital, Delhi ranks second among Indian states in terms of number of stalking cases registered, according to National Crime Records Bureau data for 2015.

Of the 6,266 complaints under stalking — Section 354D of the Indian Penal Code — 1,124 were from the Union Territory of Delhi. It accounts for 18% of all stalking cases in India. The Capital also contributes to 97% of all such complaints from all Union Territories.

The city leads in numbers even against other states that are perceived as being unsafe for women such as Uttar Pradesh, which registered 519 stalking complaints in 2015.

The Capital’s number of cases is second only to Maharashtra, which registered 1,399 stalking cases.

However, the state has a higher sex ratio compared to Delhi. While Maharashtra has 929 women for every 1,000 men, Delhi has 868 women for every 1,000 women.

In August, Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal wrote a letter to the Union home ministry pointing out the high rate of stalking crimes. “According to data of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) for 2015, Delhi is not just rape capital but also stalking capital.

Last week, a 23-year-old girl was set ablaze because she turned down a stalker’s proposal. I met that girl who has suffered 95% burns and is battling for life in a hospital,” she said in the letter dated August 16, 2016.

“The difference is also in the population. If one combines the population of all UTs, then Delhi will still have a higher population. Also Delhi women are more aware of their rights,” says advocate MS Khan, who regularly deals with stalking cases.

On Tuesday morning, in the Burari district of northwest Delhi, a 34-year-old man allegedly stabbed a 22-year-old woman 22 times. The young woman died on the spot. A police source said the accused claimed that he and the woman knew each other and were in a relationship previously.

“There was a complaint registered in March, but that was compromised after parents of the accused met with the parents of the victim,” police sources told HT. The woman did not register a police complaint after April, sources added.

The complaint is “the subject of investigation”, said deputy commissioner of police (north) Madhur Verma.

Delhi was the state with second highest number of stalking cases (541) in 2014 as well, according to NCRB data.

A CAPITAL SHAME Delhi accounts for 18% of all stalking cases in India, 97% of all stalking cases in UTs



6,266: Total number of stalking cases registered in India in 2015. Delhi ranks second position in terms of the registered stalking cases

Delhi accounts for 18% of all stalking cases in India, 97% of all stalking cases in UTsTotal number of stalking cases registered in India in 2015. Delhi ranks second position in terms of the registered stalking cases

CASES THAT SHOOK DELHI 29 Aug, 2016: A DU student was set afire by her stalker in Mukundpur after the girl refused to marry him. A dairy owner, who lived near her house, allegedly followed her everywhere. He went to the girl’s house one day and started beating her family members. When the girl retaliated, he allegedly poured kerosene on her and set her on fire.



18 July, 2015: A 19-year-old from Anand Parbat was stabbed to death allegedly by a man she had accused of stalking. She had filed a complaint against the accused in 2013 but nothing much came out of it. Police denied that such a complaint was filed.



11 May, 2012: Harassment by a stalker pushed a 19-year-old beautician from Vasant Kunj to suicide. Before killing herself, she told her sister that she had been humiliated in public.



8 March, 2011: March, 2011: A DU student was shot outside her college in South campus. The killer, identified as a mentally unstable man told police he knew the woman’s route to college, and was waiting near the bridge to kill her. His immediate provocation came three days before the crime when he tried to speak to her but she snubbed him. A labourer at a knitting unit, he bought a gun from Gurgaon to kill her.



23 Jan, 1996: Priyadarshini Mattoo case Law student, Priyadarshini Mattoo, was found dead on at her uncle’s house. Her senior, Santosh Kumar Singh, who had been stalking her for years, was the main accused. Later, it was revealed Santosh, the son of an IPS officer, strangled her with a wire around her neck. He smacked her face many times with a helmet making her face unrecognisable. The Delhi HC on Oct 30, 2006 sentenced him to death. It was later changed to life term. A DU student was set afire by her stalker in Mukundpur after the girl refused to marry him. A dairy owner, who lived near her house, allegedly followed her everywhere. He went to the girl’s house one day and started beating her family members. When the girl retaliated, he allegedly poured kerosene on her and set her on fire.A 19-year-old from Anand Parbat was stabbed to death allegedly by a man she had accused of stalking. She had filed a complaint against the accused in 2013 but nothing much came out of it. Police denied that such a complaint was filed.Harassment by a stalker pushed a 19-year-old beautician from Vasant Kunj to suicide. Before killing herself, she told her sister that she had been humiliated in public.March, 2011: A DU student was shot outside her college in South campus. The killer, identified as a mentally unstable man told police he knew the woman’s route to college, and was waiting near the bridge to kill her. His immediate provocation came three days before the crime when he tried to speak to her but she snubbed him. A labourer at a knitting unit, he bought a gun from Gurgaon to kill her.

SOURCE: NCRB