Cases of men torturing wives rising

Need of more women police personnel felt, counselling of victims underway

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 31: When one looks back at the cases of crimes against women in Assam, one mostly finds crimes like men torturing their wives. Such cases keep rising in the State.

Guwahati Police Commissioner Hiren th was on record making such a statement while briefing the press in Guwahati on Friday. th also said that some groups of women police personnel would be raised so as to monitor crimes against women.    

According to a highly-placed police source, 2006 cases of cruelty on women by their husbands were registered in the State in 2005. The number of such cases rose to 2,548 in 2006, 3,000 in 2007, 3478 in 2008, 4398 in 2009, 5410 in 2010, 5246 in 2011, 6407 in 2012, 8636 in 2013, 9405 in 2014, 9553 in 2015, 9327 in 2016 and 6159 in 2017 till July. Such cases in the State cut a sorry figure.

Even as various social and other causes may be held responsible for this rising trend in cases of men torturing their wives in the state, the lack of adequate number of police personnel in the State is also attributed to such a scerio. 

Guwahati, according to the source, needs 2,500 police personnel. “While around 700 posts are vacant, a batch is under training. The number of women police in the State is very small. We’re contemplating on recruiting 30 per cent women police personnel,” the source said, and added: “We’re going to make a women police cell with an SI as in-charge in every police station in the State a reality. That may help bring down the rising crimes against women in the State.”

“Cruelty by husbands is not new in Assam. Such cases were very much there in the State. The fact remains that since women are more educated now, they come forward to report such crimes against them to the police. This is a good sign. The crux of the problem still lies in bringing awareness on such crimes,” the source said. This essentially means that the lack of adequate number of women police stations in the State also adds to the rising crimes against women. 

Special DGP Kuladhar Saikia was on record saying recently that 45-49 per cent of cases of crimes against women in the State are cases of cruelty on women by their husbands. According to Saikia, when a woman is tortured by her husband she may find it difficult to cope with the situation later. In such cases, counseling is a must, he said. “We’ve already taken some 256 cases for counseling so as to let them start their lives afresh,” he said.

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