Jaipur is steadily becoming a dangerous metropolitan city for members of Scheduled Castes over the years, latest data provided by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows.

In 2019, the state capital of Rajasthan was the most dangerous among the 19 big metropolitan cities of India, reporting the biggest share of crimes committed against Dalits in the country – 20%. In 2018, Jaipur’s percentage share was 13.4%, while in 2017 it was a mere 6%.

On the other hand, the percentage share of crimes committed against Dalits fell regularly and remarkably in cities like Lucknow, Bengaluru and Patna, which were at the top of this list in the previous years. The 343 cases of crimes registered in Jaipur in 2019 was the highest in the state capital since 2015.

In a way, the growth in crimes committed against the SCs in Jaipur mirrors the growing violence against Dalits in the state. Uttar Pradesh, which saw the horrific gang-rape and murder of a 19 year-old Dalit woman in Hathras district last month, registered overall the biggest percentage share of crimes committed against Dalits in the country in 2019.

Rajasthan reported the biggest surge in crimes against Dalits, nearly 50% compared to the cases that were registered in the state in the previous year.

While 6794 such cases were reported from the state in 2019, in 2018 the number was 4607. The figure of 2018 itself was an increase of over 8% compared to 2017. In other words, the rate of crime being committed against Dalit is seeing a steady increase in Rajasthan year-on-year.

In 2019, the rate of crime against Dalits (calculated as crime per one lakh of population) was the highest in the country – at 55%. In 2018, it was 37.7% and in 2017 it was registered at 34.7%.

Besides, Rajasthan reported the highest number of cases of ‘assault on adult women with intent to outrage her modesty’ and cases of ‘attempt to rape’ in 2019 that were registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Rajasthan also featured among the top few states that reported crimes committed against SCs of various natures. It was second only to Uttar Pradesh in cases of rape and of ‘kidnapping and abduction’ that were registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

It figured second overall in the list of all cases registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the country in 2019.