NEW DELHI, May 7 -- Delhi retained the grim distinction of being the most unsafe metropolitan city for women for the fourth consecutive year, reporting the highest number of rape cases and a high share of violent crimes against women, data from the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) "Crime in India 2024" report released on Wednesday. A total of 1058 rape cases were reported in the national capital last year - more than double the figures of Jaipur (497) and Mumbai (411), the next two cities on the list. Still, this was a slight decline for Delhi from 2023 and 2022 when 1,094 and 1,212 were reported, respectively. NCRB defines "mega cities" as those with populations exceeding two million. City-wise figures further showed that the Capital recorded 13,396 cases of crimes against women. While this was the highest across metro cities for 2024, it was down from 13,439 cases of crimes against women in 2023; 14,247 in 2022; and 14,277 in 2021. The total for 2024 included 3,974 cases of kidnapping and abduction; 4,647 cases of cruelty by husband or relatives; 178 cases of stalking in the city; 755 cases of molestation; 316 cases of sexual harassment; and seven murders with rape. With over 31,008 cases under investigation, Delhi accounts for nearly one-third of the total caseload across 19 major cities, with a crime rate of 176.8 per 100,000 people. It is followed by Mumbai (6,358 cases) and Bengaluru (4,748 cases). Cities such as Chennai (1,093) and Kolkata (1,958) reported comparatively lower numbers....