south mumbai – The Metrognome

Mumbai clocks in 300% rise in crimes against women

A White paper recently released by the Praja Foundation reveals South Mumbai is perceived most unsafe, conviction rates are dismally low.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Even as the city grapples with rising criminal activity, a very grim picture about crimes against women has surfaced in Mumbai. According to a research paper released by the city-based Praja Foundation, there has been a staggering 390% rise in rapes from the year 2011 to 2014, while molestation cases have gone up by 347% in the same period.

The report analysed data gathered under RTI (Right to Information) and found that Mumbai has lost its ‘safe city’ tag, especially for women. “Within a span of four years (2010-11 to 2014-15), reporting of rape cases has increased to 390% and molestation to 347%. From 2013-14 to 2014-15, the cases of rape and molestation have gone up by 49% and 39% respectively. Conviction for rape was just 27%,” the report states.

Nitai Mehta, Founder and Managing Trustee of Praja Foundation observes, “In serious offence cases, particularly rape, chargesheets are filed under the direction responsibility of a senior officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police, and prosecuted only when there is enough evidence and witnesses to prosecute the accused. Still the conviction rates are low.”

To further understand the issue and find solutions, Praja initiated a study to understand the life cycle of a serious offense case in the first court of trial, various stages that it goes through and its outcome. The study confined it to Sessions Courts of Mumbai with the understanding that as per the law, most of the serious offences are tried in these courts. Of the 550 cases studied so far, only 127 were convicted and even in them the conviction in 34 cases was on a lesser offence; there was no perjury initiated when witness turned hostile; eight months were taken to file charges for rape cases.

Mehta added, “Preliminary findings of the study highlights, a) Failure in investigation, b) Weak prosecution, c)and weak reformative systems. Based on the report, conviction of Class II serious offences (i.e. crime against body) was as low as 9% in 2014.”

On the whole, South Mumbai remains the area where registered crime is most rampant (9,203 cases). Alarmingly, the report shows that South Central Mumbai have registered most number of rape cases for the last five years whereas South Mumbai has the highest number of reported crimes (9,203) in 2014-15.

(Image is used for representational purpose only)

School children paint to spread cancer awareness

Wockhardt Hospitals organised a ‘Cancer Awareness Day’ on its south Mumbai premises with an intra school drawing competition inviting Mumbai students.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Wockhardt Hospitals, South Mumbai, yesterday organised ‘Cancer Awareness Day’ with an intra-school drawing competition on its premises. The event invited students from different city-based schools to participate in large numbers and was aimed at debunking the myths and fear about cancer and to spread a ray of hope amongst the survivors.

Explained Zahabiya Khorakiwala, Managing Director, Wockhardt Hospitals,“We set the event theme as ‘Life wins – fight against cancer’, and children in the age-group of 8 to 12 years responded enthusiastically by turning out intriguing and colorful sketches on their drawing sheets. It was such a wonderful experience for both the school children and the Hospital, since children undergoing cancer treatment also participated in the event. We found that the children who had participated in this competition had given a thought and conceptualised with research and read about it.” She added that it is possible that children might not be interested in the subject it it remains restricted to textbooks.

Talking about the Hospital’s preventive and curative program against the cancer, Dr Boman Dabhar, Medical Oncologist at Wockhardt Hospitals said, “It was an overwhelming experience to witness a huge gathering of students and their schools supporting the noble cause of creating awareness about cancer. As children are the future of the nation, such initiatives create an immense impact amongst the population at large.” He added that cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide today, with an estimated 13 million new cases diagnosed every year. “Numbers are rising and, compared with figures at the start of the new millennium, are expected to double by 2020, and triple by 2030. Yet, according to the WHO, up to one in three cancers can be prevented through diet and lifestyle changes” said Dr Dabhar.

The drawing competition was followed by a street play, ‘Suresh ki Kahaani’ by Ameya Mahajan and his team. Subsequently, a corporate film was played for doctors, school principals and teachers on coping with cancer. Students were awarded for their best drawings and trophies were given as a token of appreciation to the participating schools. Similarly, the principals and teachers of each school were felicitated by the Hospital and were handed out the participating certificates for their respective schools.

Schools participating in the event included St Mary’s High School – ICSE, Regina Pacis, St Lady Engineer High School, NMT English Medium High School, Balmohan Vidya Mandir, KMS Shirodkar High School – CBSC, KMS Shirodkar High School, Sharadashram Vidya Mandir High School, Cankid High School, and Banerjee School.