29 July,2009 11:37 AM IST | | PTI
The country witnessed a surge in rape cases in 2007 with Madhya Pradesh topping the list followed by West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Delhi reported 598 rape cases thus topping the chart of Union territories which registered a total of 641 cases.
According to official data, a total of 3,010 rape cases were registered in Madhya Pradesh in 2007. There were 2,106 cases reported in West Bengal, 1,648 in Uttar Pradesh and 1,555 in Bihar during the period.
However, the situation in northeastern states was comparatively better except for Assam where 1,555 cases were reported. A minimum of 13 cases came into light in Nagaland, 20 in Manipur, 24 in Sikkim, 48 in Arunachal Pradesh, 82 in Meghalaya and 83 in Mizoram, the data said.
Among the southern states, Andhra Pradesh registered a maximum of 1,070 cases, followed by 523 in Tamil Nadu, 512 in Kerala and 436 in Karnataka. Maharashtra reported 1,451 cases of rape while there were 939 in Orissa and 519 in Punjab, the data said.
Out of the total of 20,737 registered cases, police arrested 25,363 people and 5,022 were convicted in 2007. In 2006, a total of 19,348 cases were registered in 2006, in which 23,792 people were arrested and 5,310 convicted.
