GUWAHATI, Jan 3 � In a disturbing trend, the evil of �dowry culture� had taken nearly 850 lives in the State in the last six years.
In 2013 (till October), as many as 135 dowry deaths were reported in the State, while in 2012 the figure was 140 (deaths).
Statistics available with the Assam Police, however, reveal that not a single case was registered under Dowry Prohibition Act in any of the police stations of the State in the year 2013 (till October) during the course of which 135 dowry deaths were reported.
Advocate Bijon Mahajan said, �Innumerable dowry death cases were reported in 2013 and as there is a specific provision to deal with dowry death cases and the corresponding Section of law on dowry death is Sec 304 B of the IPC, all these cases must have been registered under that particular Section of the IPC.�
Moreover, in spite of measures taken by the State machinery, incidents of crime against women continue to witness an ascending trend. In all, over 14,500 cases of crime against women were registered in 2013 (till October), which is far more than what was in the preceding year.
In the year 2013, 7,362 cases relating to cruelty by husband (Section 498 A), and 1,673 cases of rape were registered in the State. Further, 1,804 cases of molestation and 3,535 cases of kidnapping were reported in various police stations of the State.
A senior Assam Police official said that although cases related to crime against women has increased, it is also a fact that many genuine cases are under-reported and many concocted allegations are levelled.
