Hundreds of crimes against women are reported every month in Uttar Pradesh, whose chief minister Yogi Adityanath likes to point the finger at other states like Bengal. Uttar Pradesh accounted for 59,853 crimes against women — 14 per cent of the national total — in 2019, the latest National Crime Records Bureau report says.

Here’s a look at a few such crimes committed in Uttar Pradesh in the first eight days of this month alone, with several policemen among the accused and a woman police officer among the victims. These incidents show the cops following their tradition of refusing to register cases, casting aspersions on the victim, and even being accused of aiding the murder of the victims’ family members — features seen also in the notorious Unnao and Hathras gang-rape cases.

March 8

Incidents: A 13-year-old girl is allegedly gang-raped in Ghatampur, Kanpur Rural. Her father is run over by a lorry on March 10 in the presence of police, a day after a death threat from a suspect’s brother. The victim’s brother alleges a policeman pushed his father under the lorry’s wheels.

Suspects: Deepu Yadav, son of sub-inspector of police Devendra Yadav, and his friend Raj Kumar aka Golu Yadav are accused of the gang rape. SI Devendra, posted in Banda, is accused of plotting the father’s murder.

Threat: While the girl’s brother was travelling to Sajeti police station on March 9, Golu’s elder brother Saurabh allegedly thrashed him and threatened publicly to kill him and his father if they dared register a rape case.

Aspersions: The girl’s brother somehow reached the police station but the police didn’t register the case. A cousin of the rape survivor said the Sajeti police had claimed the girl was “immoral”. Kanpur superintendent of police Brijesh Srivastava has denied the allegation.

Case status: A gang-rape case was registered on March 10 only after journalists visited the police station. Golu was arrested. Three policemen — inspector Abdul Kalam, sub-inspector Ram Shiromani and constable Adesh Kumar — have been suspended for dereliction of duty. Deepu remains untraced. A murder conspiracy case has been registered against Devendra.

March 8

Incident: A male police sub-inspector abuses and shoves a woman inspector in full public view in the Civil Lines area of Allahabad. Dinkar allegedly wanted the inspector, his senior, to vacate her rented rooms in the Kotwali area. A video of the incident circulates on social media.

Suspect: Sub-inspector Vinod Kumar Dinkar.

Case status: Local circle officer Ajit Singh Chauhan says he is unaware of any such incident. The woman inspector had told reporters her own police station (Civil Lines) had rejected her complaint.

Allahabad DIG Sarvashresth Tripathi said he had warned both officers of disciplinary action in case of a repeat. He didn’t explain what the woman inspector’s fault was. The video does not show her misbehaving with anyone.

March 8

Incident: A youth allegedly stabs a married woman to death on a road in Shikarpur, Bulandshahr.

Suspect: Vinit Kumar aka Vinesh, a distant relative of the victim.

Case status: Vinit has been arrested. The police claim he had an affair with the victim.

March 7

Incident: A 19-year-old youth allegedly barges into the home of a 45-year-old woman in Haveli Mohalla, Agra, and stabs her and her 15-year-old daughter to death.

Suspect: Govind Kumar, a BSc student from the neighbourhood.

Case status: Govind arrested on March 10.

March 7

Incident: An 11-year-old girl is allegedly raped in an agricultural field in Phulpur, Azamgarh district.

Suspect: A boy from the girl’s village whose name the police are withholding till they find out whether he is a minor.

Case status: Local police inspector Ratnesh Kumar Singh said the suspect was in hiding.

March 4

Incident: An Anganwadi worker from the Civil Lines area in Badaun alleges gang rape by a sub-inspector and two constables at the local Shekhupur police outpost.

She says she had come to complain that four people had arrived at the Anganwadi centre on March 2, thrashed her and left with the record of expenses. She says the policemen told her to come another day and, when she did, took her into a room and gang-raped her.

Suspects: A sub-inspector and two constables.

Case status: No case has been registered – for gang rape, for assault at the Anganwadi centre or for theft of the expense records. The police are accused of failing to take her for a medical examination or to record her statement.

Aspersions: Senior superintendent of police Sankalp Sharma said: “The woman’s husband is an accused in a molestation case. The allegation against the police is baseless. Still, we are probing it.”

He did not explain how the husband’s being a molestation accused was relevant to this case.

March 1

Incident: A professional dancer is allegedly kidnapped, confined in a house in Shahpur, Gorakhpur district, and gang-raped by three men.

The accused allegedly upload a video of the incident on social media.

Suspects: Real estate agent Ravi Kumar and two friends.

Case status: Brajesh Yadav, a police inspector, and constable Dharmendra Kumar were suspended on March 4 for failing to register a case. All three suspects have been arrested.

‘anti-women’ police

S.R. Darapuri, a retired IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh, said state police’s tardy “application of the law” encouraged criminals to think they could commit crimes with impunity.

“Also, the state police are mostly anti-women. They register cases only under pressure. This sends out the message that checking crimes against women is not a government priority,” he said.D.R. Sahu, a sociology professor at Lucknow University, said it would “take time to change the state’s culture from feudal to democratic”, and urged everyone to work towards this.

“However, the good thing is that the women and their families are reporting the crimes these days, undeterred by the social stigma. I believe this will bring about a change in the popular mindset,” he said.