Crime against women on the rise in Vijayawada

VIJAYAWADA: The city is turning into a dreaded place with crimes against teenaged girls and women seeing a rapid increase. In all, 1,699 cases were registered which were directly connected to violence against women this year.
This is almost 50 per cent increase over the previous year as 1,083 cases were registered in 2010. The cases related to dowry harassment have almost doubled in 2011 when compared to 2010.While 576 dowry harassment-related cases were registered in 2010, the number rose to 996 this year.
Even cases relating to cheating minor girls in the guise of love and marriage too have gone up. The reported cases were 29 in 2011 from 17 in 2010.
Dowry death and dowry-related murders have marginally come down to 15 from 19 in the previous year. Expressing anguish over the rise in the crimes against women, city police commissioner N Madhusudan Reddy promised to take tough action against the culprits and perpetrators. He expressed satisfaction over the recovery rate.
"We have set up special surveillance teams to nab the chain snatchers particularly during the early hours when the offenders are targeting morning walkers," he said. He said that 13 special teams were moving around the city in vantage areas like RTC bus depot, railway station and city bus stops to prevent chain snatching incidents.
With police stepping up vigilance, the house-breaking incidents have come down to 216 from 226 in 2010. About 32 robberies and two dacoitees took place this year, which were slightly higher than the cases registered in the previous year. As part of the efforts to check eve-teasing, 502 people were taken into custody by the cops and cases booked against them.