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The position in the states: annual statistics

2012: UP most unsafe place for children

The Times of India 2013/06/15

The Times of India

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh topped the list of crimes against children with 15.8% such cases reported from the state in 2012, according to the latest National Crime Record Bureau report. It ranked second in crimes against women.

Madhya Pradesh is ranked second with 13.5% cases of crimes reported against children. Delhi, Maharashtra and Bihar are ranked third (11.7%), fourth (9%) and fifth (7.6%). West Bengal is one of the safest states for children with only 4.5% of total cases against kids reported from there.

There is some good news though for UP, as it no longer tops the list of major crimeprone states. Among the bigger and populous states, Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are as crime prone-now.

“UP has to face some many unique dimensions of crime because of its vast population and area. Still, it has been our endeavor to produce the best results. The crime trends of 2012 are encouraging, but there is still scope for improvement,” ADG Law & Order and Crime Arun Kumar said.

West Bengal tops the list of crimes against women, while Delhi has the highest rate of violent crimes in the country. Madhya Pradesh reported maximum rape cases (3,394), followed by West Bengal (2,040) and UP (1,951). TNN

Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO)

Victims below (and above) 18: Indian states with the worst record

Indian states with the highest number of rapes, and percentage of victims above and below 18 years of age ; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, October 21, 2015

See graphic:

Indian states with the highest number of rapes, and percentage of victims above and below 18 years of age

2001 to 2011: 336% spurt in child rape cases

‘336% spurt in child rape cases’

By TIMES NEWS NETWORK, The Times of India , 22 April 2013 The Times of India

Even as the national Capital protests against the heinous nature of the five-year-old child’s rape, an independent report, based on National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures, shows that India is no country for children.

The report says a total of 48,338 child rape cases was recorded between 2001 and 2011, and the nation saw an increase of 336% of such cases from 2001 (2,113) to 2011 (7,112).

The report by the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), however, warns that this is only the “tip of the iceberg” as the large majority of child rape cases are not reported to police while children regularly become victims of other forms of sexual assault too. Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of child rape cases with 9,465 cases between 2001 and 2011, followed by Maharashtra (6,868), Uttar Pradesh (5,949) and Andhra Pradesh (3,977). Delhi, which reported 2,909 cases, ranked sixth on the list.

The report, “India’s Hell Holes: Child Sexual Assault in Juvenile Justice Homes”, which has been submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, says that many of the cases take place in juvenile homes.

“It will not be an understatement to state that juvenile justice homes, established to provide care and protection as well as reintegration, rehabilitation and restoration of the juveniles in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection, have become India’s hell holes where inmates are subjected to sexual assault and exploitation, torture and ill-treatment apart from being forced to live in inhuman conditions. The girls remain the most vulnerable. It matters little whether the juvenile justice homes are situated in Delhi or in mofussil towns,” said Suhas Chakma, director, ACHR.

The 56-page report also highlights 39 cases of systematic and often repeated sexual assault on children in juvenile justice homes. Out of the 39 cases, 11 were reported from governmentrun juvenile justice homes, while in one case a CWC member was accused of sexual harassment during counselling sessions.

The remaining 27 cases were reported from private or NGO-run juvenile justice homes.

2015, 2016: 43 to 49% cases were assaults by neighbours, relatives on under-18s

Nearly half of rape cases in Delhi have kids as victims; most in outer district, November 24, 2017: The Times of India

NGO Study Says 50% Of Delhiites Feel Unsafe In Capital

Crime reported in 2014, 2015 and 2016, some facts, category-wise
From: Nearly half of rape cases in Delhi have kids as victims; most in outer district, November 24, 2017: The Times of India

The belief that the capital is not safe for its children has been reaffirmed by data accessed through Right to Information requests. Nearly half the rape cases reported in Delhi in 2015 and 2016 involved assaults on children. Not surprisingly, a perception survey carried out by NGO Praja among 24,000 households showed that 50% of the people did not feel safe in Delhi. The comparative figure for Mumbai was 17%.

Data gathered by Praja through RTIs showed that 49.14% of rape cases in 2015 and 43.79% in 2016 were registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, which deals with sexual assaults on children under the age of 18 years. With 178 cases, Outer district registered the most POCSO cases, followed by South East (125) and North East

(124). Outer district also had the maximum registered rape cases at 367 in 2016. In most cases of assaults on children, the perpetrators were neighbours or relatives.

South district reported the highest occurrence of molestation of women (590), while West had the most cases of chain snatching (1,018) in 2016. Praja’s report said, “Around 60% do not feel that Delhi is secure for women, children and senior citizens, 67% respondents from Chandni Chowk and South Delhi find the city unsafe/ not secure for women, children and senior citizens in one's locality and 57% do not feel secure while travelling in Delhi.”

Of the 24,301respondents in the survey, 15% had witnessed a crime in Delhi against only 5% in Mumbai. Of the respondents who saw a crime being committed, 57% did not inform the police. Of the 43% who did approach the police, 76% were not satisfied with the response. In contrast, half of Mumbaikars who witnessed a crime informed the police and were satisfied with the institutional response.

Praja also reported that crime did not seem to be top of the mind for Delhi’s members of Parliament. Quoting an RTI reply on the questions raised by MPs in Parliament between the Budget session of 2014 and the Budget session of 2017, the data showed Manoj Tiwari and Ramesh Bidhuri asking the maximum number of questions, six, on crime while Parvesh Sahib Singh asked only one question on the subject.

Speaking at the release of the white paper on crime in Delhi, journalist Rahul Dev said the “sexual demon which is at work across all sections of society in Delhi” needs to be countered by “creating and sustaining an awareness campaign against sexual abuse of the children with all the stakeholders i.e. children, parents, schools and colleges”.

2015-16, crime against children increased by 82%

Dipak Dash, Child rapes up 82% in 2016, UP records a 400% jump, December 1, 2017: The Times of India

Crimes By Juveniles Also Show Uptrend

Instances of child rape increased by 82% in 2016 in comparison to 2015. Uttar Pradesh registered a four-fold increase in such offences with the number of child rapes going up from 596 in 2015 to 2,115 in 2016, according to the report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The report showed that 19,920 children were raped last year in comparison to 10,934 in 2015. Overall crimes against children saw the highest rise of 13.6% in 2016. Such crimes have been continuously on the rise over the past three years.

“Crimes against children have shown increasing trend over the past three years with significant increase of 13.6% (1,06,958) in 2016 over (94,172) in 2015. Kidnapping and abduction of children accounted for 52% of the cases followed by cases under POCSO,” a release issued by the home ministry said. POCSO stands for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, which came into effect from 2012.

Maharashtra reported the highest number of child rapes at 2,467 in 2016, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 2,292. The report also shows an over 50% rise in cases of abduction and kidnapping in 2016 in comparison to 2015.

In a first, crime report of 2016 has included feticide cases, which were at 144.

It’s not just crimes against children which saw an increase, but also number of crimes committed by juveniles increased during 2016 by 7.2%. Rapes by juveniles increased from 1,688 in 2015 to 1,903 last year, an almost 13% jump. Similarly, the number of murders, kidnapping, abduction and thefts increased last year, the report shows.

The MHA release said: “20.6% (7,369) of cases under juvenile in conflict with law were reported in MP followed by 18.4% in Maharashtra (6,606) during 2016.”

According to the report, 9,932 juveniles held guilty last year were released on probation and placed under care of parents or guardians, while 10,019 were sent home after advise or admonition.

More than 60% children who went missing in 2016 were girls, most of them in Bengal

(15.1% out of 1,11,569). Across states, police had traced 55,944 children by 2017 end.

2015: cases pending in children courts under POCSO

Pradeep Thakur, 47% of all pending POCSO cases are from Maharashtra , August 2, 2017: The Times of India

Cases pending in children courts under POCSO, state-wise; Pradeep Thakur, 47% of all pending POCSO cases are from Maharashtra , August 2, 2017: The Times of India

The pendency of cases of crimes against children have gone up significantly . Maharashtra accounts for nearly half of all the 27,500 cases of crime against children pending in the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) courts across the country , followed by Kerala, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The POCSO courts, set up in 2012, are special courts for the trial of cases of crimes against children to prevent minors from being victimised again in courts which otherwise have to deal with long pendency of other cases. A POCSO court has provision for incamera trial in a child-friendly environment without revealing the identity of children.

There are 591 such courts across the country , almost one in every district, to ensure that the trials are completed within a year from the date of registration of the FIR. These courts come under the direct supervision of the high court of respective states. According to the law ministry , 27,558 cases of crimes against children are pending in POCSO courts as of July this year, of which 12,990 are pending in Maha rashtra alone. The other states where such pendencies are high include Kerala (3,991), Rajasthan (3,828), Madhya Pradesh (1,241) and Bihar (950).

Crimes against children have gone up in recent years, and so have the pendencies in the special children courts set up to deal with such cases.

In order to deal with such cases, the high courts and state governments have taken various steps that included appointment of 459 special public prosecutors, 729 special juvenile police units and 591 special children courts set up in 694 districts, according to the law ministry . The only state which has not set up POCSO courts is Jammu and Kashmir as it is not governed under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, about 14,900 cases were registered under the POCSO Act during 2015, the available statistics. The highest was, however, registered in Uttar Pradesh (3,078 cases), followed by Madhya Pradesh (1,687) and Tamil Nadu (1,544 cases).

However, cases of crime against children booked under various laws have significantly gone up over the years.The NCRB says a total of 94,172 cases of crimes against children were registered in the country during 2015 as compared to 89,423 cases during 2014 and 58,224 in 2013.Maharashtra again accounted for the highest 14.8% of total crimes committed against children registered in the country , followed by Madhya Pradesh (13.7%), Uttar Pradesh (12%) and Delhi (10%).

Child rape: conviction rate

In 2013, trial completed in just 15% child rape cases

Abhinav Garg New Delhi:

The Times of India Jul 22 2014

Conviction Rate Was A Mere 31%

Only 15.3% of all cases relating to sexual offences against children in 2013 saw completion of trials in that year and the conviction rate for such crimes was a low 31.5%, latest figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveal.

Nearly 85% cases of child rape continue to be pending in various courts across India, according to the report.

Extreme reluctance of parents to bring their victimized children to courts, inability to ensure their anonymity and conflicting testimonies by kids scarred by assault are some of the primary reasons why sex crime cases against children tend to linger on.

But the biggest reason according to experts, including lawyers, activists and child counsellors is the tendency of the government to enact special laws for which it is unable to allocate required resources to enable implementation by the judiciary .

For instance, despite bringing in a “stringent“ law such as Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), there has been a jump in sex crimes against children. And, most district court complexes across the country are yet to get a dedicated sessions court for POCSO or independent special public prosecutors as envisaged under the Act that came into force in November 2012. Section 28 of the Act makes it mandatory for the state government to establish “a court of session to be special court in every district“ while section 32 mandates appointment of “special public prosecutors“.

Child rights lawyer Anant Asthana blamed the Centre and states for high pendency of sex crime trials in courts.

“The main reason is that the government doesn't invest in improving the justice delivery system,“ he said. “Supreme Court has said in its report on national court management system that government legislates but doesn't provide financial allocation. If there is no allocation how can magistrates be appointed, courtrooms built and prosecutors recruited?“

Protect identity in child rape: HC

The Times of India

Apr 03 201

The Delhi high court expressed concern over identity of child survivors of sexual offences being disclosed. HC has directed trial courts and hospitals to ensure that guidelines laid down by it are scrupulously followed in all cases relating to children.The court said it is the duty of the hospital where a child is admitted for treatment to ensure that no details of the survivor are divulged.

Abench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said the norms must be adhered to since it deals with keeping the identity of the child confidential unless permitted by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) or Child Welfare Committee (CWC).The guidelines, prepared by a committee set up by the high court, also provide for creation of probe panels in courts and hospitals in case of such lapses.

In its latest directive, the court said that “the guidelines framed by the committee appointed by this court and as approved by this court should be implemented with immediate effect. The guidelines must be circulated in all courts and hospitals of the national capital, so that they are implemented.“

The bench said that this should be done before July 15.

The court's direction came after it was informed that the guidelines were not being implemented, as authorities were found to be disclosing the name and identity of the children in need of care and protection.

The court was hearing a petition, filed by lawyer Anant Asthana, questioning the disclosure of identity of a 15-year-old girl who had brought a two-year-old baby to AIIMS in January 2012.

The child was admitted with severe head injury , both arms broken, bite marks all over her body and her cheeks branded with hot iron.

Paedophilia

Paedophilia in Delhi, 2013-17

Delhi no stranger to paedophiles, but records show criminals repeat offence, Sep 6, 2017: The Times of India

Murray Dennis Ward is not Delhi first encounter with a paedophile.At least three others were apprehended in the past two years. All of them targeted children from lower economic classes. But they share certain characteristics that could flag them as dangerous for society .

According to studies, more than half of sex offenders repeat their crime. Mental health expert Rajat Mitra, who has studied sex offenders lodged in Tihar Jail, said that 58% of the men jailed for rape admitted that it wasn't their first time. Experts say many are predisposed to such crimes. Care should, therefore, be taken to notice the red flags. Take the case of Sunil Rastogi, caught in east Delhi earlier this year. He had earlier been released from a UP ja il for good behaviour while serving out a sentence for raping a minor. Out of jail, he sexually assaulted another nine-year-old girl. The law permitted Rastogi to seek a bail from the police station.

Ramesh Kumar, a labourer arrested in outer Delhi last year for raping and killing 30 children, claimed that he had first committed a sexual crime against a neighbour's child.When the child did not report the matter to the parents, Kumar became bolder. Later whenever he faced resistance from his other victims, he beat them or strangled them after every sexual act.

Many of those arrested for paedophilia are released within months of their arrest. Police and legal experts opined that a registry of offenders should be made and those on the list made to regular report to the police. This, they felt, could be a strong de terrence. Many countries have such databases that law enforcers regularly consult.

Delhi Police does publish a list of sex offenders on its website. This “name and shame“ mechanism has been around since 2013. Details of 700 people convicted of sexual crimes between 1983 and 2017 have been uploaded by the Crime Branch so far. “We upload the names, pictures and conviction details related to three types of offences: rape, molestation and outraging a woman's modesty ,“ a police officer said.

This initiative was in line with the Justice Verma Commission's recommendations on women's safety and Union home ministry directives.The registry in available on http:www.delhipolice.nic.in under the `Useful links' tab under the head of “sexual harassment“. Most crime experts think that the scope of the registry has to be broadened. The central government, it is learnt, is working on a national registry of sexual offenders. It will come into being once all police stations are connected to a single network.

Child vulnerable districts, state-wise

Child vulnerable districts, state-wise

Himanshi Dhawan TNN

The Times of India, June 18, 2011

25% children run risk of losing parental support

A quarter of India’s children live in extremely vulnerable situations face the risk of losing parental care and support. A child in Orissa, Bihar or Jharkhand is more vulnerable to losing parental care than in any other part of the country.

A new study has found that 62 of the 100 child vulnerable districts in India fall in the country’s poverty belt — east zone — that includes states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal.

The east zone includes 38.28% of the most vulnerable children followed by central zone (32.13%) and west zone (21.63%). The total estimated vulnerable children in India are approximately 11 crore which are 27% of the total child population below 18 years of age.

The estimation of child vulnerable districts and vulnerable children is part of a study by SOS Children’s Villages of India to enable it to target its future interventions in the vulnerable and needy geographic locations. Vulnerable children were defined as the ones most likely to lose parental care and support due to reasons like poverty, social unrest, HIV AIDS, disability and others.

SOS India general secretary Rakesh Jinsi said, “Besides economic reasons, social unrest and the political situation in states in the east zone have impacted child vulnerability. We have also noticed that vulnerability or the lack of parental support and care lessens as the children become older.’’

A large majority of children lose care and protection of parents between 14-15 years either due to abandonment, disease, death or displacement, he added.

The estimation of vulnerable children was done on the basis of census and population projection data. The study also found that districts with the maximum vulnerable child population included Murshidabad in West Bengal, Muzaffarpur and Samastipur in Bihar, Medinipur in Bengal and Nashik in Maharashtra.

The study also noted that while child population was declining in keeping with national population control strategies, the vulnerability of children continued to increase. The share of child population according to present estimates is 41% and is likely to come down to 37.1% in 2021. However, Jinsi said vulnerability among children was rising.