SHOCKING STATISTICS: Despite increasing rape-graph, conviction rate is going down!

New Delhi: As the rape incidents are rapidly rising across the country, it is surprising to note that the rate of conviction in the heinous crime is witnessing a decrease. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), around 23,582 cases of sexual violence were registered throughout the country in 2011 with a conviction rate of 26.40%. But in 2012, while the rape incidents grew to 24,923, the conviction rate went down to 24.20%. Five states that took a lead in number of rape cases As per the NCRB, while BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh topped the list of reported number of rape cases by registering 3425 incidents of such nature in the year 2012, Congress-ruled Maharashtra stood at bottom in the list by witnessing 1839 rape cases in the same year. Following are the states that took a lead in registering number of rape cases in 2012: Madhya Pradesh (3425), Rajasthan (2049), West Bengal (2046), Uttar Pradesh (1963) and Maharashtra (1839). Notably, the NCRB data shows Madhya Pradesh has been on top in rape cases since 2008. A total of 2937, 2998, 3135 and 3406 cases of rape were reported from the state in the year 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. In 2012 also, the state was leading all states with d 3425 rape cases. The NCRB data also makes it clear that no government - be it BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party or Trinamool Congress - is serious in curbing crime against women. Conviction rate Despite registering highest number of rape cases in the country, Madhya Pradesh has ironically a very low conviction rate. In 2012, the rate of conviction in rape cases in Madhya Pradesh stood at only 19.5 percent, which is much less than the national average of conviction. Although Rajasthan was at number 2 with 2,049 cases of rape, its conviction rate (30 percent) was higher than the national conviction. West Bengal stood third in the number of reported rape cases. Unfortunately, the conviction rate in the state is also less than the national average, even less than Madhya Pradesh. In 2012, the conviction rate in West Bengal stood at only 10.9% percent. In 2010, a total of 2311 cases of rape were reported but next year, it increased to 2363 cases. However, in 2012 it decreased to 2046. In Uttar Pradesh, 1963 such cases were reported in 2012 but the conviction rate was far better than the rest four top states. In 2012, the conviction rate in rape cases in Uttar Pradesh was recorded at 50.3 percent. In Maharashtra, 1839 cases were reported in 2012, but conviction rate was only 16.1 percent. States like Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tripura had less than 20 percent conviction rate. Jammu & Kashmir and Goa have only 7.5 and 8.3 percent conviction rate respectively. States that top in conviction in rape cases Mizoram and Nagaland had the best conviction rate at 82.4 and 72.7 percent respectively. It is noteworthy that the three-member Justice JS Verma Committee, constituted after the gang-rape of a medical intern in Delhi on December 16, 2012, had suggested the judiciary to take suo motu cognizance of such issues and put a set of reforms within the judiciary.