UDAYAPUR, June 28: Number of rape cases in Udayapur district has escalated in the current fiscal year, according to a new data published by the District Police Office.

This year’s data exceeds past three year incident records, according to District Police’s Women and Children Cell’s chief and sub-inspector, Uma Gurung.

In the current fiscal year, 40 cases of rapes have bee reported so far, up from 27 and 32 in 2072/73 and 2073/74 respectively.   

Amid rising rape cases, police have called for all stakeholders to unite and curb the incidents. In doing so, stakeholders shared that to the district needed to improve access to justice and initiate campaigns to deter rising rape incidents.

Ganga Rai, the deputy head of District Coordination Committee said that the cases were increasing as victims and their families tried to hide or reconcile due to shame.  She added that it was a shame that Nepal was still coping against such heinous crimes in the 21^st century. “To end this, local, provincial and central governments must be committed to severely punish the offenders,” Rai said.

SP Nabaraj Bhatta, chief of District Police Office said that such maintaining silence in the incident had also encouraged offenders to pounce on their preys. “As people hide the incidents, it boosts the offender’s morale,” he said adding that over the past few years, many opted for reconciliation rather than searching justice.

He added that effective implementation of law and responbible civil society and political parties would help to reuce the incident. The District Police Office has also started pasting stickers in each house for timely reporting of incidents. “If anything happens, inform us immediately,” Bhatta said.

 
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