New Delhi: Crime against children in India saw a rise of approximately 6% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to recent data. Out of 1.87 lakh cases registered in 2024, offences under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) accounted for 69,191 cases, involving 70,132 child victims.
POCSO Cases Under Heinous Sections
Of these 69,191 cases, 44,126 cases (involving 44,567 victims) pertained to the law's heinous crime sections 4 and 6. Section 4 penalizes "penetrative sexual assault" with a minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment, while Section 6 governs "aggravated penetrative sexual assault," imposing stricter penalties of 20 years to life or even death, particularly for children under 12 years of age.
Gender and Age Profile of Victims
The gender profile of POCSO victims under these sections reveals that 43,675 were girls and 892 were boys. Age-wise distribution shows:
- 23,368 victims (including 129 boys) in the 16-18 years age group
- 16,801 victims (including 369 boys) in the 12-16 age group
- 3,438 victims (including 351 boys) between 6 to 12 years
- 831 victims below six years of age, of whom 43 were boys
Known Persons as Offenders
The data reinforces that most often a known person takes advantage of a child's vulnerability. In cases under sections 4 and 6, 96.6% of offenders were known to the victim. In over 22,000 cases, the offenders included friends, online friends, or a live-in partner on the pretext of marriage. In 16,668 cases, the offenders were family friends, neighbors, or employers among other known persons. Family members were involved in 3,658 cases. Only in 1,492 cases was the offender unknown or unidentified.
Murder with Rape/Gangrape Cases
In a related category of murder with rape or gangrape, 266 cases involving 274 victims were registered in 2024. States with the highest number of such cases include Madhya Pradesh (50), Rajasthan (38), Maharashtra (24), Uttar Pradesh (23), and Telangana (18). In comparison, 2023 saw 230 cases of murder with rape/gangrape involving 233 victims.
