AGARTALA, May 16 (TIWN): If there has been an award for violence against woman , Tripura is bound to be crowned as the best in the country . Indeed, in the clear absence of police administration as well as the failure of Woman Commission crimes against women are on the rise in Tripura and that too at a considerable rate. In the year 2013 the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued notices to the chief secretary and DGP of Tripura on a complaint that incidents of crime against women, including rape, murder, molestation, torture for dowry, sexual harassment at workplace were on a rise in the state.Taking cognizance of a complaint in that regard in 2013 Justice D Murugesan, member of NHRC directed the then Tripura chief secretary and the then Director General of Police to submit reports in this regard within four weeks . The complainant also alleged that in almost all cases of sexual offence against women at workplace, the state government was trying to hush-up the matter to give protection to the offenders. The NHRC said that giving several instances of crime against women, wherein either delayed action or no action was taken by the police, during the year 2013 the complainant requested the Commission to take steps for the protection of right to life with dignity of women and to stop unabated violence against them in Tripura.

The complainant had also alleged that Tripura had become a safe heaven for women trafficking and that even at workplace women could not work with dignity.

According to the Crimes in India 2013 report published by National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB), Tripura had registered 1628 cases of various crimes against women during 2013. Of these cases of cruelty by husbands and other relatives were the highest at 827, followed by 233 cases of rape, 124 cases of kidnapping and abduction and 29 cases of dowry-related deaths.

However, neither state gov't , nor police nor Woman Commission responded to the warnings of NHRC even after two years . As such crimes especially rapes and dowry deaths are increasing rapidly . Altogether 196 rape cases were registered  in Tripura till January 2015 with the record in the Financial Year (FY) 2014-15 shows a hefty climb to the crimes against women. Tripura witnessed 840 cases relating to crime against women till January, 2015, out of which 196 were rape cases.A total of 107 rape cases were lodged during the financial year 2013-14, whereas during the previous FY the figures rested at 108. However, the figures jumped to 196 during the 2014-15 FY .

The irony of the fact is that whenever Chairman of Woman Commission  Purnima Roy is asked about such barbarous atrocities against women she would proudly point out saying that the number of crimes against women is decreasing. But recently addressing the media first Chief Justice of Tripura High Court Deepak Kumar Gupta clearly pointed out that in Tripura crimes against women are on high . Deepak Kumar Gupta also said that even police stations not doing their jobs properly and as such FIRs are not registered in due time against the culprits.

And the role of Woman Commission is almost like a puppet organ of the ruling party.

It is really very unfortunate that even during the last seven days two minor girls were gang raped and brutally murdered by the culprits. The Women wing's of CPI-M party which comes out to the streets against any incident of crime against women in West Bengal and other parts of the country is nothing but a mute spectator about crimes against women in Tripura.