Cruelty at home is the fastest rising component in crime against women in India the last 5 years, data released by the National Crime Records Bureau shows. Overall crime against women is steadily rising across segments save one, with a total of 2,28,650 incidents of crime against women reported in 2011 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special & Local Laws (SLL), up 23.4% since 2007. Here’s a look at the total number of cases of crime against women from 2007 to 2011:
West Bengal, which accounts for 7.5% of the country's 1.2 billion population, leads the states’ share with a nearly 13% share in total crime against women, reporting 29,133 cases in 2011. Andhra Pradesh, which also accounts for 7% of the country’s population, has a 12% share in the total crime against women with a total of 28,246 cases in 2011. Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are next. West Bengal has the highest number of cases of cruelty by husbands and relatives and accounts for about 19.9% of the total incidences, with 19,772 cases reported. The number of cases of cruelty has increased by about 5% since 2010 with 94,041 cases being reported in 2011. The only segment which saw a decline was cases of sexual harassment, down 14% since 2010 with about 9,961 cases being reported in 2011. Andhra Pradesh topped the list with about 43% cases. The number of kidnappings and abductions has gone up 19.4% from 2010 with about 29,795 cases being reported in 2011. Uttar Pradesh has a whopping 21.2% share of the kidnappings and abductions of women in the country, 7,525 cases reported in 2011. Dowry deaths have increased by about 2.7% since 2010 with 8,391 cases being reported across the country. Uttar Pradesh, again, has the highest number of dowry deaths with 2,322 cases. Bihar reported about 1,413 cases. The number of molestation cases has increased by about 5.8% since 2010 with 40,613 cases being reported in 2011. Madhya Pradesh accounted for about 15.5% of the national total with the highest incidence of 6,665 cases.