New Delhi: Failed live-in relationships are the reason for at least one fourth of rape cases registered by the Delhi police.

The police registered a total of 1,656 rape cases by September 30 this year. These included 25.31 percent (419) cases where the accused were in live-in relationship or refused to marry, reveals Delhi Police data.

Separation of live-in partners and non-fulfillment of promise of marriage despite having physical relation lead to complaints of rape, said B S Bassi, Commissioner of Police.

The number of rape cases and its nature have also changed these days. Delhi Police data indicate that the number of rape cases per 100,000 people in the national capital averaged 3.09 in 2010 while increased to 12.21 cases this year.

As far as victim-accused relationship is concerned, friends or family’s friends figure in the highest number of rape cases registered in the city.

A total of 644 rape cases (38.89 percent) involved accused as victim’s friends or friends of her family, registered by police till September 30 this year.

Neighbors and relatives were accused in 281 and 233 cases respectively, the data showed, The Times f India reported

Safety and security is a priority of Delhi Police and it has ensured that no crime against women goes unreported, Bassi said.

“We focus on professional investigation of such cases. Of the total of 1,656 rape cases registered till September 30, we worked out 1,260 cases. The number of cases which were worked out within a week of FIR were 781 while 186 cases were worked out in a couple of weeks,” he said.