Gandhinagar, Oct 7 (IANS): In a shocking revelation in the data submitted in the Gujarat state assembly, the state government has revealed that there was a rise of 40% in rapes during the four years from 2016 to 2019. The incidents of gang-rape also quadrupled during the five years from 2016 to 2020.

Answering a question put by Vav constituency Congress MLA Geniben Thakor, the Gujarat Chief Minister, who also holds the home portfolio, informed that there were a total of 8,317 cases of rape registered between October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2020. This means that there were around 4 to 5 rapes committed everyday in Gujarat during the five years.

Between October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016, a total of 1, 382 crimes were committed. In the preceding year, 1,480 cases were registered (a 7% rise over the previous year). In the year after that, 1,765 cases were registered (a whopping 19 % rise over the previous year). From October 2018 to September 2019, 1,936 cases of rape were registered by the Gujarat Police (a 10% rise over the previous year). There was a fall in this figure by 9% during the preceding year from October 2019 to September 2020 and 1,754 cases were registered. This decline in the number of cases can be attributed to the pandemic in the state.

The maximum cases were registered in the financial capital of Gujarat, Ahmedabad -- 1,261 during this five-year period. Second was Surat with 899 cases, Bhavnagar 432 cases, Rajkot 409 cases and Vadodara with 343 cases.

During the same period, the number of incidents of gang rape quadrupled. While there were 11 cases of gang rape between October 2015 and September 2016, the next year saw 19 cases. During October 2018 to September 2019, 36 cases of gang rape were registered with the Gujarat Police and in the next year from October 2019 to September 2020, 40 cases of gang rape were reported in Gujarat.