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An average of 87 rape cases were reported daily in 2019, latest government data has revealed. The data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) showed an overall 4,05,861 cases of crime against women during the year, a rise of over 7 percent from 2018.
According to the NCRB data, a total of 32,033 cases of rape were lodged in 2019, which was 7.3 percent of all crimes against women during the year.
In 2018, the country recorded 3,78,236 cases of crimes against women. Out of these, 33,356 were rape cases, up from 32,559 in 2017.
As per the available NCRB data, majority of these cases under Indian Penal Code were registered under 'cruelty by husband or his relatives' (30.9 percent) followed by 'assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty' (21.8%), kidnapping and abduction of women (17.9%).
The crime rate registered per lakh women population stood at 62.4 in 2019 in comparison with 58.8 in 2018. The NCRB, which functions under the Union Home Ministry, is tasked with collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and special and local laws in the country.
Meanwhile, a brutal case of rape has shook India. A woman was gangraped by four men in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras. She was referred to Delhi's Safdarjung hospital after her condition deteriorated but died. Soon protests broken out in Delhi as well as Hathras with all sections of society including politicians, sports, cine stars and activists expressing their anguish and demanding justice for her.
