PROVOCATIVE DRESS INVITES RAPE, SAYS AP POLICE CHIEF
VENKATA RAMANA | Sat, 31 Dec 2011-08:00am , Hyderabad , DNA
In a mind-your-attire-like statement, the police chief of Andhra Pradesh has attributed the increase in crime against women to the dress they wear.
Claiming that the modern women are more vulnerable to rape, AP’s director general of police V Dinesh Reddy said provocative dress of women was one of the reasons for the incidence of rape, and police have no control over that.
Reddy was responding to a set of queries raised by the media on the rise in number of rape cases in the state during 2011.
Andhra Pradesh reported 1,291 rape cases till November this year against 1,228 during the corresponding period last year and 1,147 in 2009.
Reddy also referred to his experience in his own village in coastal Nellore district where, he said, women wore dresses that covered their entire body.
“Now, wealth has increased, corporate styles have seeped into the villages bringing in liquor and other cosmopolitan cultures. These modern women are more vulnerable to rapes,” he said.
According to him, the police have little role to play in the unfolding of unfortunate events when the women wear provocative dresses.
The number of rapes and murders in Andhra Pradesh rose significantly during 2011. There were about 2,522 murders reported till November 2011 as against 2,465 in 2010 and 2,381 in 2009.
While addressing both the issues together, Reddy said two major crimes were linked to social factors and the police were not to blame.
When questioned what solution he would suggest to bring down the incidence of rapes, Reddy said, “We will cross the bridge when we reach there.”