In terms of cases registered, crimes against children have almost tripled in Assam – from 1,385 to 3,964. Crimes against children — now in public focus amid revelations of sexual abuse in a shelter home in Muzaffarpur — have risen by 14 per cent between 2014 and 2016, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports for these years show. In 2016, the latest year for which figures have been compiled, cases registered under “crimes against children” crossed 1 lakh – 1, 06,958 – up from 89,423 in 2014. The Government presented these and other figures, in Lok Sabha this week.
A report appearing in the The Indian Express stated that Telangana and Bihar too registered a steep rise. In Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, the number of cases has gone down since 2014. The Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir cited measures taken such as the recent enhancement of punishment for rape of children aged below 12.
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The report further stated that nearly 75 per cent of crimes reported in Assam are kidnapping cases. Save the Children, an NGO, blamed poor implementation of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), slow progress of trial and poor enforcement of the laws for this spurt in crimes.
The NGO feels that if child protection committees are set up in each village, block and the district as stipulated by ICPS, crimes against children will come down. This will also help keep a database of children and keep watch on crimes against them too. Similarly, criminals like those involved in trafficking rackets are taking advantage of the improved communication like mobile networks to take their targets out easily.