On top of the list of missing women in India: Maharashtra

Maharashtra is on the top of the list of missing women in India of 2021 with 56,498 women which is followed by Madhya Pradesh (55,704), West Bengal (50,998) and Odisha (29,582).

What’s in News?

According to the data published in “Crime of India”, the publication of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the total of 375,058 women (above the age of 18 years) and as many as 90,113 girls (below the age of 18 years) went missing in India in 2021. Most of the women and girls were missing from the Maharashtra (56,498 women) followed by Madhya Pradesh (55,704), West Bengal (50,998) and Odisha (29,582) in 2021.

In a three-year period of 2019-2021, concerning total of 10,61,648 women and 2,51,430 girls went missing in India. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh were the two states that witnessed highest number of missing women and girls from 2019-2021.

Initiatives of Maharashtra Government

• Mahila Police Kaksha: A help desk for women at every police station, to handle the cases regarding crime against women.
• Special Juvenile Police Unit and Child Welfare Police Officer (SJPU & CWPO): A special juvenile police unit is formed in all 49 police units across the state and one police officer in each police station all across the state.
• The state government has set up a toll-free helpline no.103 for Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai and for the rest of the Maharashtra helpline no. 1091 is set up.

Initiatives of the Central Government

The Central Government has taken number of initiatives for the safety of women across the country:

• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe stringent penal provisions, including the death penalty for the rape of girls below the age of 12 years. The act also mandates the completion of investigation and filing chargesheet in rape cases in two months and trials to be completed in two months.
• The MHA launched a cyber-crime reporting portal in September 2018 for citizens to report obscene content.
• The MHA launched an online analytical tool, “investigation tracking system for sexual offences” in February 2019.
• The ministry has approved two projects for setting-up and strengthening of women help desks in police stations and anti-human trafficking units across the country.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development has set up 733 one-stop centres in the country to provide assistance to women affected by violence and distress.

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