Phulbani: Cases of rape and other crimes against woman and girl children are reportedly on the rise in Kandhamal district.
This was revealed at a workshop on crime scenario and policing in the district at the local Press Club here Friday.
Guests, speakers and the workshop organisers deliberated on criminal cases and alleged that the police are not providing complete data on crimes even though information is sought from them under the RTI Act.
They alleged that women desks are not working in most of the police stations while police-public rapport has not been up to the mark.
Two agencies – Centre For Sustainable Use of Natural and Social Resources (CSNR) and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) have conducted intensive research on the crime scene in the tribal-dominated district.
The report was tabled at the workshop. According to the report, the district recorded 1,327 cases of various crimes in 2017 while the figure was 567 between January and May in 2018.
In 2017, cases of crimes against women were 402 while it was 136 in 2018. As many as 135 cases were related to dowry violence and 103 cases were of kidnap and 100 related to rape.
In 2017, cases of sexual offence on 49 children were registered in the district.
Speakers expressed their concern over the rising crime against women and girl children. They called for strong policing to curb such a worrying trend in the district.