THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram district is emerging as the POCSO capital of the state as 84 cases were registered in the capital district in the first two months of this year. Of these, 27 cases were registered in Thiruvananthapuram city, while Thiruvananthapuram rural district saw a whopping 57 cases, making it the most dangerous place for children in the state.
As per the statistics available with the Police Department, the state recorded 571 cases in two months- which translates to about 10 cases a day. The state witnessed 269 cases in January, while February saw 302 cases.
Malappuram came second in the shame list with 73 cases, while Ernakulam was third with 58 cases.
As many as 41 cases were reported in Ernakulam rural, while 17 cases were registered in the city limits.
Thiruvananthapuram Rural SP B Ashokan said changing social scenario has got a large role in the spike in POCSO cases.
“The social conditions can be attributed as one big reason. Child sexual abuse mostly happens in broken families. Estrangement between spouses allows a third party to come into the scene. This mostly happens with the women as the men, who come into the house, end up abusing the kids.”
The SP added the use of intoxicants prompts the aggressors to commit the crime. He said Thiruvananthapuram rural witnessed the most number of cases owing to its size. “We have got the maximum number of police stations - 40. Hence we come across more complaints. Whenever we come across POCSO complaints, we act immediately. 90 per cent and more accused are nabbed swiftly,” Ashokan said.
Another senior officer said the number of cases is far more than what’s being reported. “The reporting of POCSO cases is still less in the state. Only a fraction of cases are coming to us. The real number of abuse is far more than what the numbers show,” the officer added.
Meanwhile, Ashokan said awareness classes will be organised to bring a change to the situation. “We need to pro-actively engage to curb this tendency. The society needs to be vigilant against these crimes,” he said.