After Delhi, Haryana too unsafe for women?

The spate of gang rapes in Haryana, including the one where a Dalit teenaged girl was gang raped in Sachhakhera village of Jind district last Saturday, seems to have broken the myth that India's national capital New Delhi is the unsafe city for women.

Almost 10 rapes in a month's time has exposed the abysmal law and order situation in Haryana. The Dalit girl later had set herself on fire after sprinkling kerosene.


Haryana is already notorious for its skewed sex ratio of 830 girls per 1000 boys as per 2011 census data. If experts are to be believed, the low sex ratio of the state is squarely responsible for increasing cases of crimes against women as men of marriageable age are unable to find brides.

Shockingly, Haryana's khap mahapanchayat has asked the state government to lower the marriageable age to prevent rising cases of rape. The khap leaders believe that TV and cinema are largely responsible for promoting vulgarity among youngsters and they easily attracted to the opposite sex that led to early puberty.

Whatever may be the logic of khaps, the pertinent question is, has the law and order in Haryana completely broken down? The Director General of Police (DGP) Ranjeev Dalal has a different argument. The DGP blames the media for raising the hue and cry over the rape cases. Going further, he advised the parents to keep a tab on their kids.

But will the blame game and 'control over kids theory' by state DGP would help to curb heinous crimes against women? The answer will be in outright negative.

The only deterrent against acts of rape and other crimes against women is the strong case and harshest punishment for the criminal. In many cases it is seen that the offender is being charged with lighter cases that helps him to dodge the punishment.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Sunday said it will seek explanation from the state government in each case, including action taken against culprits.

According to report, a total of 733 rape cases were registered in Haryana in 2011. And 367 cases have been reported so far in first six months of 2012.

Haryana reported first incident of gangrape on September 9 in Hisar. The father of the victim, a Dalit, committed suicide after learning that culprits had made and circulated an MMS clip of her daughter.

On Monday, Haryana Police directed its officers to make routine visit to villages and slums in crime-hit districts to curb rape and other crimes in the state.

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