Jajpur: Despite stringent laws and massive awareness campaigns in place, crimes on minors are on a rise in Jajpur district. Official data paints a grim picture of ground realities where as many as 368 rapes cases have been registered in police stations of Jajpur between 2017 and August 2019.
According to official statistics, 114 rape cases against minors were registered in 2017. The numbers shot up to 147 in 2018 and by August 2019, a whopping 107 such cases have been registered signifying a heavy rise in sexual exploitation of minors.
There are 710 minor rape cases under trial at the POCSO court here.
Reports suggest that a large number of these victims were raped by someone known to them – especially relatives. This apart, widespread consumption of liquor is also leading to crimes in many cases – rape being one of them.
To make matters worse, delivery of justice takes a long time and in many cases the accused get acquitted owing to lack of evidence. This indirectly discourages minors and their family members to report cases of sexual abuse while emboldening the miscreants who count on bails after committing heinous crimes.