Delhi: Woman raped in Dwarka, one arrested

A woman was allegedly raped in Delhi’s Dwarka area by a man she knew, who had lured her under the pretext of a job interview, police said on Monday.

The accused, who works as an electrician, has been taken into custody, authorities confirmed.

“On Sunday, we received a PCR call reporting a rape at Mohan Garden police station,” a senior police officer said.

The woman had spoken with the accused, whom she knew, over the phone. He asked her to meet him, claiming he would take her to a job interview on Sunday, the officer explained. An FIR was filed, and the accused was subsequently arrested, he added.

According to data from the Delhi Police, accessed exclusively by Patriot, the capital saw 2,141 rape cases in 2023, up from 2,084 in 2022, marking a 2.73% increase. On average, nearly six rape cases were reported daily in 2023.

So far in 2024, from January 1 to August 31, 1,393 rape cases have been reported, indicating an average of around 5.73 incidents per day.

A concerning rise in rape cases that include murder has also been noted. There was only one such case in both 2022 and 2023, but by August 31, 2024, three such cases had already been reported.

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In contrast, there has been a decrease in sexual assault cases, defined as non-consensual sexual contact. Delhi recorded 2,509 cases in 2022, which fell to 2,345 in 2023. However, it is uncertain if this trend will continue, as 1,354 sexual assault cases have been reported up to August 31, 2024.

Sexual crimes are prosecuted under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 64-70 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for rape. Section 354 of the IPC and Sections 74-78 of the BNS cover assault with the intent to outrage a woman’s modesty, while Sections 302 combined with 376 of the IPC, and Section 103 combined with 64-70 of the BNS, address incidents involving rape with murder.

The high number of sexual assaults in Delhi over the years has raised significant concerns about the safety of women. Delhi has consistently reported the highest number of sexual crimes against women among metropolitan cities. The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report for 2022 shows Delhi recorded 14,158 cases of crimes against women, with Mumbai following at 6,176.