UP sees 1,000 cases of domestic violence every day

BAREILLY: In a span of just four months, 1.24 lakh cases of

domestic violence

have been reported from Uttar Pradesh, at a staggering 957 every day. According to data compiled by state police, women were the victims in 54,074 cases, making up 43% of the total. Senior citizens too were extremely vulnerable to

domestic abuse

, making up 33% of the cases, while 10% of the victims were children, numbering more than 12,000.

The data was compiled by

UP 100

, an

emergency response system

of the state police department where residents can make calls in times of distress. UP police's ambitious project aimed at providing

integrated emergency services

for public safety and security was launched in November last year with its control centre in Lucknow.

Since its inception, UP 100, first responders to crime, have received mostly reports of disputes, followed by cases of domestic violence. In a span of 133 days, UP 100 received 3.35 lakh cases of disputes, mostly pertaining to ones among neighbours, or caused by financial issues.

Out of the total 1.24 lakh cases of domestic violence, 31,597 were related to men allegedly beating their wives. Another 14,881 concerned harassment of women by their in-laws, making up of 12% of the total domestic violence cases reported.

The data pertain only to calls made to UP 100 and do not include cases filed directly at police stations. However there could be an overlap if data from both UP 100 and cases at police stations are merged. “UP 100 is the first responder to any distress call but its ambit is restricted to providing emergency services. Once a case is registered, the proceeding are conducted at police stations which follow up the case,” PRO at the office of the director general of police, Rahul Srivastava, told TOI.

"There are several cases where no FIR is lodged as both parties reach a settlement, especially in cases of domestic violence. So basically an offence might be registered by UP 100 or police stations, but it is not necessary that an equal number of FIRs are lodged,” said an inspector in Bareilly who did not wish to be named.

On the other hand, the state police department claimed to be receiving close to 10,000 cases on a daily basis on Dial 100, out of which nearly 81% are resolved on the spot. “Every day, 9,482 incidents are handled by UP 100. More than 750 are transferred to police stations while 200 referred to hospitals,” read a tweet from the official UP 100 Twitter account.