BHUBANESWAR: As many as 1,149 rape cases, including 604 involving minors, were registered in Odisha in the first six months of this year, Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra informed the Assembly on Monday.
In written replies to separate questions from Soumya Ranjan Patnaik (BJD) and Nauri Nayak (BJP), the Minister said while 2,502 rape cases were registered in 2018, the conviction rate in the year was 18.35 per cent.
As many as 1430 cases involved minor girls, he said and added that on an average, 3.9 cases involving minor girls were reported.
The Minister said 1,073 cases were disposed of in 2018. While 197 cases ended in a conviction, accused persons in 876 cases were acquitted in different courts.
As part of the Government’s steps to book the culprits involved in minor rape cases, the Minister said 24 special courts will be set up to deal with cases registered under POCSO (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, 2012.
The courts will be located in Angul, Balasore, Bargarh, Bhadrak, Balangir, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khurda, Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Puri, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Sundargarh districts, he said.
In his reply to the question from Nayak, the Minister said 1,865 rape cases were registered in the first nine months of 2019.
However, the reply did not have the figure involving minor girls. He said 1,079 murder and 406 dacoity cases were reported up to September 2019.