As many as 7,132 stalking cases against women were reported in 2016, an increase of 52% over 2014, according to this reply by Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, minister of state in the ministry of home affairs to the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) on August 8, 2017.

Varnika Kundu, a 29-year-old woman, daughter of a senior Indian Administrative Service official was allegedly stalked by Vikas Barala, son of Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Subhash Barala, in Chandigarh on August 4, 2017, The Indian Express reported on August 8, 2017.

Over the last three years, Chandigarh has witnessed 38 cases of stalking being registered, in which 41 arrests were reported.

As many as 18,097 stalking cases have been reported in India over the last three years, and 20,753 people have been arrested.

However, conviction rate remains low - 2014 (34.8%), 2015 (26.4%) and 2016 (24.7%).

VIZONE

Source: Lok Sabha Note: Data for 2016 provisional

The union territory of Delhi reported the most (12.1%) crime rate for stalking in 2015, followed by Telangana (4.2%) and Haryana (2.7%).

Maharashtra reported the most cases- 3,783 - followed by Delhi (2,500), Telangana (2,288), Uttar Pradesh (1,837) and Andhra Pradesh (1,694) over the last three years.

The top five states accounted for 67% of stalking cases across the country.

VIZ

Source: Lok Sabha Note: Data for 2016 provisional

Stalking cases are registered under section 354D of the Indian Penal Code.

(Mallapur is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)

We welcome feedback. Please write to respond@indiaspend.org. We reserve the right to edit responses for language and grammar.

__________________________________________________________________

“Liked this story? Indiaspend.org is a non-profit, and we depend on readers like you to drive our public-interest journalism efforts. Donate Rs 500; Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000.”

Chaitanya Mallapur

    Chaitanya has a masters degree in politics from the University of Mumbai and a bachelor's degree in computer science. His areas of interest are foreign policy and security studies. He has also worked with ET NOW, a business news channel, as an assistant producer in the digital team.