BHUBANESWAR: Odisha continues to witness a higher incidence of crimes against children, a majority of whom are reported to have either gone missing or kidnapped.
The state saw 8,577 crimes against children in 2023, up from 8,240 cases in 2022 and 7,899 cases in 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)-2023 report released on Monday.
Kidnapping was the highest recorded crime, with 5,978 IPC cases reported that year involving 5,979 children, at a rate of 41.5 per one lakh kids population. Over 5,905 of these were general abductions, including 5,871 instances where the missing children were deemed kidnapped. Sixty minor girls were kidnapped to be compelled for marriage.
Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act or POCSO Act, a total of 2,381 cases were reported involving 2,391 children. Of them, 1,631 cases were filed under Section 4 & 6 of the POCSO Act that cover the offence of rape and all these crimes involved girls. Section 4 & 6 of the Act pertain to penetrative sexual assault and aggravated penetrative sexual assault, respectively.
Again, under Section 8 & 10 of the POCSO Act which pertains to sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault respectively, 701 crimes against girls were reported involving 711 victims. Likewise, 30 girls were used for creating pornographic materials and 69 cases were filed against offenders for publishing materials depicting children in sexually explicit acts.
There were a significant number of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) or the JJ Act violations too. While the state saw 79 violations under JJ Act, 45 of the offences were committed by caretakers or those in charge of juvenile homes. Fifty-seven child marriage cases were reported during the year.
The data that was obtained from police records in the state point to a crime rate of 59.5 per cent, based on the actual children population of 144.1 lakh (as per Census 2011). The overall charge sheet rate for such crimes stood at 41.5 per cent in 2023, one of the lowest in the country, and pendency percentage in court was 90.