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CHAPTER-6 TABLES CRIME AGAINST CHILDREN

Issues relating to child victims and crimes committed against children are a matter of serious concern for the Government, parents and society. The Indian penal code 1860 defines various categories of offences against children. In addition there are many legislations which were enacted from time to time to safeguard the child from abuse, violence and inhuman treatment. Besides legislative measures, Govt. has started a number of programmes to take back children to school, educate parents etc. A number of social organisations have been working in this field. However, still the problem remains very acute and needs better attention from Government agencies and NGOs. Status of a Child There is a need for a clear definition of `Child' in the statutes of law. The new Juvenile Justice Act i.e. Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act 2000 defines a child as one who is below 18 years of age. The `Child Marriage Restraint Act' of 1928 also specifies 18 years as the cut off mark for restraining child marriage. For the purpose of Section 375(IPC) the age for consent in case of wife is 15 years. But in Section 376(IPC) a distinction has been made on the basis of wife below 12 years of age. These give rise to conflicting interpretations in the status of the child. There is need for harmonising these inconsistencies along with those existing in `Special/Local Laws'. Offences against Children There is no separate classification of offences categorised as offences against children. Generally, the offences committed against the children or the crimes in which children were the victims are considered as Crime against Children. The general penal code of this country and the various protective and preventive `Special and Local Laws' specifically mention the offences wherein children are known to be victims. Such offences are construed as Crimes Against Children for the purpose of analysis in this chapter. It is also to be borne in mind that the offences that are analysed in this chapter do not form an exclusive block of offences that were reported in the country. They are embedded in the IPC/SLL cases already discussed. The offences here-in this chapter have been culled out from the different reported crimes in the country wherein the victims of the penal offences were children. For the first time in this report, the data on crimes against children is compiled through the revised annual returns. Till last year (2000), cumulative totals of crime statistics available on monthly basis were used for this analysis. The annual returns have additional heads like `murder of children and `other unspecified crimes. Therefore, incidence of crimes against children during 2001 may not be comparable with earlier year figures. The cases in which the children are victimised and abused, can be categorised under two broad sections: 1) 2) Crimes committed against Children which are punishable under Indian Penal Code (IPC). Crimes reported against Children which are punishable under Special and Local Laws (SLL).

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Specific Sections/Acts under above two categories are as follows: 1. a) b) c) d) e) f) Crimes punishable under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) involve: Murder (302 IPC) Foeticides (Crime against being born) Section 315 & 316 IPC. Infanticides (Crime against unborn child) Section 315 IPC. Abetment of Suicide (abetment by other persons for commitment of suicide by children) Section 305 IPC. Exposure & Abandonment (Crime against children by parents or others to expose or to leave them with the intention of abandonment): Section 317 IPC. Kidnapping & Abduction: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii) viii) g) h) i) j) k) 2. a) b) c) Kidnapping for exporting (Section 360 IPC). Kidnapping from lawful guardianship (Section 361 IPC). Kidnapping for ransom (Section 363 read with Section 384 IPC). Kidnapping for camel racing etc. (Section 363 IPC). Kidnapping for begging (Section 363-A IPC). Kidnapping to compel for marriage (Section 366 IPC). Kidnapping for slavery etc. (Section 367 IPC). Kidnapping for stealing from its person (under 10 years of age only) (Section 369 IPC).

Procuration of minor girls (for inducement to force or seduce, to illicit intercourse) Section 366-A IPC. Selling of girls for prostitution (Section 372 IPC). Buying of girls for prostitution (Section 373 IPC). Rape. Unnatural Offences. Crime Against children which are punishable under `Special and Local Laws' are:

Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (where minors are abused in prostitution). Child Marriage Restraint Act. Child Labour (Prevention) Act. For the first time in this report, attempts have also been made to include district-wise statistics and details of disposal of these crimes by police and courts, persons arrested and details of their trials etc. Crime Incidence (Incidence10,814)

Nationally, a total incidence of 10,814 cases was reported during the year compared to 5,023 reporting 115 per cent increase over the previous year 2000. The spurt in increase is due to introduction of murder of children (other than infanticide) and `Other Unspecified crimes in the schedule of data collection from the year 2001. Uttar Pradesh state (3,709) which contributed nearly 16 per cent of the nations population, however, contributed 34.3 per cent of these crimes to the nations total.

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Maharashtra (1,621) (15%) and Madhya Pradesh (1,425) (13.2%) were the next in order of incidence. Crime Rate (Rate1.1)

The rate of crime also doubled from 0.5 to 1.1 as compared to the year 2000. Uttar Pradesh State reported the highest crime rate at 2.2 followed by Maharashtra at 1.7 compared to national average rate of 1.1. Crime head-wise reported crimes The State/UT-wise and crime head-wise incidence of reported crimes are presented in Table-30. Murder (Incidence1,175 Rate0.1)

A total of 1,175 cases of murder of children were reported in the country. Of these, 133 (11.3%) were infanticide cases. Uttar Pradesh (489) contributed 41.6 per cent of these cases to the nations total. Lakshadweep UT which reported only 1 case, however, reported the highest crime rate 1.6. As compared to previous year (2000) the infanticide cases have increased by 27.8 per cent from 104 cases in 2000 to 133 cases in 2001. Rape (Incidence2,113

Rate0.2)

A national total of 2,113 child rape cases were reported during the year compared to 3,132 such cases in 2000 reporting a significant decline of 32.5 per cent in 2000. Uttar Pradesh (562) contributed 26.6 per cent of such cases at national level. The rate of crime was, however, highest at Delhi (0.8) compared to 0.2 at the national level. Kidnapping & Abduction (Incidence2,845

Rate0.3)

A total of 2,845 cases of Kidnapping & Abduction of children were reported during the year compared to only 711 cases in the previous year. Uttar Pradesh (1,185) contributed 41.7 per cent of such cases at the national level. The rate of crime was the highest in Delhi at 4.4 compared to national average rate of 0.3 only. Foeticide (Incidence55)

Only 55 case of Foeticide were reported in the country during the year compared to 91 cases in the previous year reporting 40 per cent decline over 2000. 17 out of 55 cases were reported from Maharashtra contributing 31 per cent to the nations total. Abetment of Suicide (Incidence26)

Compared to 18 cases in the year 2000, a total of 26 cases were reported in the country representing 44.4 per cent increase. Madhya Pradesh contributed 8 cases sharing 30.8 per cent at national level.

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Exposure & Abandonment

(Incidence678

Rate0.1)

Country-wide 678 cases were reported compared to 660 cases in the year 2000, representing 2.7 per cent increase. Maharashtra reported 281 cases contributing 41.4 per cent at the national level. Procuration of Minor Girls (Incidence138)

Compared to 147 such cases in the year 2000, 138 cases were reported in the year 2001, reporting 6 per cent decline. Approximately, one-fifth (21 per cent) cases were reported from Uttar Pradesh State (29). Buying/Selling of girls for Prostitution (Incidence6/8)

These cases are an increase when compared to the previous year figures. Only 6 cases of Buying of girls for prostitution and only 8 cases of `Selling of girls for Prostitution were reported in the country during the year 2001. Comparatively in the year 2000, 53 cases of Buying of girls and 15 cases of Selling of girls for Prostitution were reported in the country. Child Marriage Restraint Act (Incidence85) A total of 85 cases under this Act were reported in the country compared to 92 cases in the year 2000 reporting a decline of 7.6 per cent over 2000. Nearly half (43 cases) were reported from Maharashtra State only. District-wise reporting of crimes First time an attempt has been made to compile the details of IPC crimes against children at district level too. The highest incidence of murder of children (35) was reported from Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh while Mumbai reported 43 cases of rape of children, North-Est district of Delhi reported 274 cases of Kidnapping & Abduction of Children etc. The detailed statistics are presented through Table-30K. Disposal of crimes by Police & Courts The general trend of disposal of IPC and SLL crimes by Police & Courts are already discussed in details in Chapter-4. In comparison to the prevailing national level charge-sheeting rate of 78.6 per cent for IPC crimes and 97.7 per cent for SLL crimes, the average charge-sheeting rate for all the crimes against children (IPC & SLL) prevailed at 81.3 per cent. The charge-sheeting rate was the highest (96.2%) for the cases reported under Child Marriage Restraint Act and the lowest (21.8%) for Exposure and Abandonment cases. Correspondingly, the average conviction rate for these crimes stood at 47.4 per cent. The conviction for murder of children stood at 54.5 while no cases of Foeticide and Buying/Selling of girls for prostitution could result in convictions. The complete details at State/UT level and crime head-wise are presented through Tables-30A to 30 F.

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Disposal of persons arrested by Police & Courts The details of disposal of arrested persons for committing crimes of children are presented through Tables 30G to 30J. Out of 14,758 persons under arrest for these crimes, 11,885 (80.5%) persons could be charge sheeted by the police. Correspondingly only 2,848 persons could be convicted representing 49.2 per cent conviction rate, slightly higher than conviction rate for crime cases against children (47.4%). These details are presented through Tables-30G to 30J.

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