New Delhi, Jul 19 (DHNS): The rape of a six-year-old girl in a Bangalore school earlier this month may have sent shock waves across the country but it is not a one-off incident in Karnataka.
Latest government statistics reveal that sexual assault on minors has gone up by three-fold in the last three years.
In 2011, 97 children were raped in Karnataka, which rose to 142 the next year, followed by 270 in 2013, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said in a written reply to a question raised by MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
However, it is more alarming that the number of people convicted in these cases is dwindling. In these three years, only 49 people were convicted in Karnataka. In 2013, 14 people- the lowest, were convicted as against 19 in 2012 and 16 in 2011.
Increase in convictions
Across India, there were 12,363 cases of child rape last year as against 8,541 in 2012. In contrast to the trend in Karnataka, the countrywide figures showed an increase in the number of people convicted from 1,447 in 2012 to 2,062 in 2013.
Last year, 330 people were arrested for raping children in Karnataka as against 178 in 2012 and 147 in 2011.
The fresh statistics have come at a time when a large number of people are protesting against the rape of the six-year-old girl in Vibgyor High School in Marathahalli. The police have detained two persons in connection with the case.
400 cases of child rape
Maneka Gandhi, Women and Child Development Minister, informed the Rajya Sabha that at least 400 cases of child rape, registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) 2012, were reported in the country this year. She said that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has been collecting data under the POCSO Act since January.
This year, Kerala has registered 145 cases of child rape, the highest number, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra (95) and Tamil Nadu (30). Delhi has reported 16 such cases. Many states, including Karnataka have not provided the 2014 data to NCRB and the number of rapes involving children will rise once the full picture evolves.