The state government may have announced the compensation for rape victims but data available so far has shown that there is a large disparity in the number of rape cases being registered in the state and the number of victims being compensated. Against 922 and 917 number of rape cases being registered in 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively, only 81 and 158 victims have been compensated so far. The government had earlier in a reply in the Assembly had clarified that the Criminal Injuries Board committee of the respective district legal service committee, which is responsible for disbursement of the compensation, had not given out any compensation for the year 2014 to 2016. This means the actual number of victims waiting for compensation is quite high if one were to take into consideration the rape cases that were recorded during these three years (2014-2016). An officer, who has closely worked with the legal department, said that the poor numbers are a reflection of the awareness about the rules. "The victims and their relatives are often not aware that they are entitled to compensation. Often the cases for compensation that come to the committees are because the court directed the victim in the matter. The victims or their relatives can also approach the legal services authority for compensation on their own but they usually don't do it," said the officer. Another official said that actually victims of crimes such as rape should be made aware that they are entitled to a compensation at the time the complaint is registered. "But since our victims hardly get any counselling to deal with the trauma of rape it is too much to expect that they would be counselled and informed about the compensation due to them," said an official. The official clarified that compensation is not subject to conviction in the case. "The committee that decides the compensation has members of police and medical officers too so they can ascertain prima facie if rape took place or not. There are cases where we know the victim but the perpetrators may not have been caught. As long as the committee is convinced that the person concerned was a victim of the crime she will be compensated," sadi the official. A cop who has handled several rape cases said that it is a surprise that the number of victims being compensated is low. "Perhaps the data only reflects victims who have been fully compensated. In my experience often the committee that is in-charge of compensating victims also keep an eye on such cases and initiate action on their own too. Moreover, they also get FIRst of almost all the rape cases that are registered so there is no question of anyone not being aware of the cases being filed," sadi the cop. He said that the compensation is released in stages. "The FIR, the medical report and such are taken into consideration before the committee decides on a compensation. It is released in stages including for medical treatment and such . The final installment is released after the case concludes and perhaps that is why the data is not reflecting the actual number of victims being compensated," said the cop. Manjula Pradeep, a Dalit rights activist who had closely supported the Patan Gang Rape victim said that ideally the government should proactively approach the victims for compensation. "But in our country where the first fight is to get a complaint registered it is too much to think that the state would proactively seek out rape victims to compensate them," said Pradeep. She said the number of victims who are compensated is lower than the rape cases being registered could be because victims are also not aware of their rights. "Nor do cops or judicial officers go out of their way to inform them of it," said Pradeep. How it works

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