The number of cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 in the last three reports of NCRBis at Annexure-I.

Police and public order are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibilities to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens including children, rest primarily with the respective State Governments and UT Administration. The State Governments and UT Administrations are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws. The data regarding crime against children is available on the website of National Crimes Record Bureau i.e. www.ncrb.gov.in.

 

Further under Section 2(14) (ii) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), such children are considered as children in need of care and protection deserving the security net of Institutional and non-Institutional care under the JJ Act. Under the Act a stringent penalty shall be imposed on whosoever employs or uses any child for the purpose of begging or causes any child to beg. The primary responsibility of execution of the Act lies with the States/UTs.

 

The Government has taken a number of other initiatives for prevention of crime against children which includes:

 

1. The Government is implementing a centrally sponsored Child Protection Services (CPS) scheme (erstwhile Integrated Child Protection Scheme) for supporting the children in need of care and protection (CNCP). The primary responsibility of implementation of the scheme lies with the State Governments/UT Administrations. Under the scheme, institutional care to CNCP and Children in Conflict with Law is provided in Child Care Institutions (CCIs). The scheme also provides for non-institutional care wherein support is extended for adoption, foster care and sponsorship. The scheme supports 24x7 outreach helpline service for children in distress. This service is available through a dedicated toll free number, 1098 which can be accessed by children in crisis or by adults on their behalf from any place in the geographical location of India.
2. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was enacted for effective deterrence against sexual offences. Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below age of 12 years. The Act also inter-alia mandates completion of investigation and trials within 2 months each.
3. The Government of India notified the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019 effective from 16.08.2019. The POCSO Act has been amended in order to make it more effective in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse in the country.Additionally the Government has taken various steps from time to time to create awareness of the provisions of the POCSO Act through electronic and print media, consultations, workshops and training programmes with stakeholders concerned. Further, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs) are also mandated to monitor the implementation of the POCSO Act.
4. A cyber-crime portal has been launched for citizens to report obscene content.
5. A “National Database on Sexual Offenders” has been launched to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies.
6. An online analytic tool for police called “Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences” has been launched to monitor and track time-bound investigation on sexual assault cases in accordance with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018.
7. In order to improve investigation, steps have been taken to strengthen DNA analysis units in Central and State Forensic Science Laboratories. This includes setting up of a State-of-the-Art DNA Analysis Unit in Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh.
8. Guidelines have been notified for collection of forensic evidence in sexual assault cases and the standard composition in a Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit. A total number of 6023 officers have been trained by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and LokNayakJayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science. BPR&D has distributed 3,120 Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits to State Governments/ UT Administration as orientation kit as part of training.

 

ANNEXURE-I

 

 

S.No.	State/UT	2015	2016	2017
		CR	CR	CR
1	Andhra Pradesh	1054	830	378
2	Arunachal Pradesh	54	59	14
3	Assam	819	821	1149
4	Bihar	187	233	1356
5	Chhattisgarh	1656	1570	1676
6	Goa	79	75	0
7	Gujarat	1609	1408	1697
8	Haryana	988	1020	1139
9	Himachal Pradesh	206	205	8
10	Jammu & Kashmir	30	25	0
11	Jharkhand	182	348	385
12	Karnataka	1526	1565	1956
13	Kerala	1486	1848	1169
14	Madhya Pradesh	4624	4717	1569
15	Maharashtra	4816	4815	5248
16	Manipur	43	43	29
17	Meghalaya	167	151	242
18	Mizoram	169	167	194
19	Nagaland	15	27	41
20	Odisha	1372	1928	249
21	Punjab	666	596	489
22	Rajasthan	1311	1479	1180
23	Sikkim	55	92	87
24	Tamil Nadu	1544	1583	1587
25	Telangana	1394	1158	1632
26	Tripura	133	156	139
27	Uttar Pradesh	4541	4954	4895
28	Uttarakhand	168	218	191
29	West Bengal	1504	2132	2131
30	A&N Islands	39	49	65
31	Chandigarh	62	51	3
32	D&N Haveli	15	11	12
33	Daman & Diu	5	10	5
34	Delhi	1936	1620	1623
35	Lakshadweep	1	5	4
36	Puducherry	49	53	66
TOTAL (ALL INDIA)		34505	36022	32608
Source: Crime in India

 

This information was given by the Minister of Women and Child Development, SmritiZubinIrani, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

 

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MM/ SB

 

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