ISLAMABAD: The recent incident of a gang rape on Lahore-Sialkot motorway has raised a number of questions not only about the performance of Punjab police but also about the general law and order in the province.
This horrific incident was not a rare occurrence in the province where at least 7,615 rape cases have been reported during the last two years. Alarmingly, the number is increasing every year at a shocking pace, official statistics show.
Documentary evidence available with The News Today shows that 3,418 rape cases were reported in Punjab in 2018. This number increased to 4,197 in 2019 depicting terrifying overall crime rate in the province.
The Province reported overall 961,737 crimes in the year 2019 compared to 781,695 in 2018. Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf is ruling the province since August 2018. Five head of Police -the IGPs including Syed Kaleem Imam, Muhammad Tahir, Amjad Javaid Saleemi, Captain ® Arif Nawaz Khan and Shoaib Dastagir have been changed in the province during two year stint of the incumbent regime.
Lahore sees shocking increase:
Statistics compiled by the Research and Development (R&D) section of Punjab police department reported 150 rape cases, including 13 gang rapes, 12 rapes of minors in Lahore in the year 2018.
The number of rapes in Provincial Capital increased to 476 last year. Police registered 463 rape cases including 10 gang rapes and another 16 rapes of minors in the metropolis.
Adjoining districts- Shikhupura, Nankana and Kasur that have been part of Lahore division reported 326 rape cases in 2018 and 358 in 2019. These include 31 gang rapes in 2018 and 30 in 2019. Police also registered 14 cases of rapes of minors in 2018 and 18 in 2019
Gujranwala division had 53 gang rapes, 23 rapes of minor children in 2019
In Gujranwala division comprising Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot and Narowal districts, police registered 382 rape cases in 2018 including 36 gang rapes and 27 rapes of minor children. In 2019, 387 rape cases were reported in the division including 53 gang rapes, 23 rapes of minor children-four of them were gang raped.
In Sahiwal Division that includes districts: Sahiwal, Pakpattan and Okara 150 rape cases were reported in 2018. These included four gang rapes and 15 rapes of minors. The situation further worsened in 2019 as 364 cases of rape including five gang rapes and 12 rapes of minors were registered in these districts.
Rawalpidi region that includes Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal a total of 279 rapes cases were reported during the last two years. Of these 126 rapes, including 12 gang rapes and 11 rapes of minors were reported in 2018. In 2019 police registered 153 rapes cases including 19 gang rapes and 11 rapes of minors in the region.
The districts of Sargodha division that include Sargodha, Khushab, Mianwali and Bhakhar 187 rape cases were reported in 2018. There were seven gang rapes and four rapes of minors in the area during the year. In 2019 police registered 191 rape cases in the region including nine gang rapes and another rapes of nine minor children.
1280 rape cases Reported in Faisalabad Division during Last two years
Faisalabad division had the highest number of rape cases across the province with a total of 1280 registered cases during the last two years. The region comprising Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Teikh Singh and Chiniot had 551 rape cases in 2018. These included 27 gang rapes and 17 rapes of children. The number increased to 729 in 2019. Of these were 23 incidents of gang rape and 30 rapes of children.
In the Multan division comprising Multan, Lodhran, Khaniwal and Vehari districts 502 rapes cases were registered in 2018 ; these included 21 gang rapes and 26 rapes of children. Police record shows that 506 cases of rapes were registered in the region in 2019 including 13 gang rapes and 19 rapes of minors.
In the D I Khan division which includes Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajhanpur, Muzaffargharh and Layyah districts police registered 589 rape cases in 2018. At least 34 women were gang rapped and 18 children were also raped in the region during the year. In 2019, 507 cases of rape, including 17 gang rapes and 15 rapes of minors were registered in the region.
In Bhawalnagar region that included Bhawalpur, Bhawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan districts, 981 rape cases were registered. In 2018 there were 455 rape cases including 11 gang rapes and 22 rapes of children in the area. In 2019 this number rose to 526 with 11 gang rapes and eight rapes of minors in the area.
According to the R&D branch of Punjab Police department, total 9376 murder cases were reported in Punjab during the last two year. These included 997 in Lahore region/district, 948 in Sheikhupura region, 1655 Gujranwala region, 670 in Sahiwal region, 1051 in Rawalpindi region, 828 Sargodha region, 1183 Faisalabad region, 792 Multan region, 627 Dera Ghazi Khan region and 589 murder cases in Bahawalpur region.
Read More: Deteriorating law and order: 1.7 million crimes reported in Punjab in last two years
