Mumbai: Sexual crimes against women rose 235% from 2012 to 2021

According to a white paper released by the non-profit group Praja Foundation, registration of rape cases shot up by 235%(from 232 to 777) and molestation cases rose by 172% in Mumbai over a decade from 2012 to 2021, as reported by TOI.

The data was an indicator that more women had been coming forward to report these crimes, which was a positive sign, according to experts. Meanwhile, murder cases fell by 27% and theft by 16% over the same period.

On the other hand, kidnapping and abduction-related crimes saw an increment of more than 650% in a decade. Among those kidnapped, about 98% of all victims were children, with most of them in the 16-18 age group, the Praja data reveals.


A Supreme Court order mandates that the police register an FIR of kidnapping whenever they receive a complaint of a missing minor. Cases of elopement of minor girls are also registered as kidnapping. This is reflected in the Praja data that shows a surge of over 650% in abductions in the city between 2012 and 2021.

In five years between 2017 and 2021, the city's north central region, which includes the Vile Parle-Bandra-Kurla belt, reported the highest number of crimes.

"One of the reasons for an increase in offences over 10 years is that complainants have better access to law enforcement agencies. The government of India has launched the 112 mobile app which can be used by a person in distress, during emergencies, to seek the assistance of local authorities and volunteers,” former DGP Praveen Dixit told TOI.

Data with Praja Foundation shows that class II offences, which include serious crimes like murder, rape, attempted murder, culpable homicide, grievous hurt, etc., had a low conviction rate of 14% last year. In fact, at the end of every year from 2017 to 2021, pendency in trials of serious crimes was at least 95%.

"Considering the average number of judgments and withdrawals made in the past six years, our calculations show that it will take 34 years to clear all cases pending as of 2021," said Milind Mhaske, CEO, Praja Foundation.

"The Covid-19 pandemic was a key reason why trials of serious crimes had a high pendency rate in 2020 and 2021. As soon as restrictions were lifted, the courts got busy attending to urgent matters like bails and liberties. It is only now, towards the end of 2022, that older trials are coming up for hearings," TOI quoted advocate Ashwin Thool as saying. He added that in some offences like assault which could be a consequence of an impulsive fight or animosity, the complainant may later not be keen to attend court regularly, which delays trial.