Victims know rapists in 95 per cent cases: Amulya Patnaik

New Delhi: In over 95 per cent of rape cases in the national capital, the victim and the accused are known to each other, according to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik.

The city’s top police officer also said the issue of women safety cannot be addressed by the Delhi Police alone, but requires larger participation from various government departments. According to statistics of the Delhi Police, 2,155 rape cases were reported in the national capital last year, and strangers were involved in only 3.57 per cent of them.

“If you analyse the incidents, less than 4 per cent of the accused are unknown to the victims. In the remaining 96 per cent of the cases, the accused are known to the victims,” he said.

Normally, the police cannot intervene in such cases, as complaints in these circumstances crop up only after the offence is committed, he said. Mr Patnaik also said that the image of Delhi being “unsafe” for women had been created because of certain cases wherein the victim and the accused were not known to each other highlighted by the media.

“We consider these cases to be consequential ones, where the actual bad elements committed the crime,” he said. He however also said that the media also highlighted cases where the offence had been committed by friends, acquaintances or relatives.

“These media reports maybe have led to the perception (of Delhi being unsafe),” he said. He added that women who travelled late at night in the city were appreciative of police’s efforts.