Mumbai Offenders in all cases registered in the city under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 were known to the victims in some capacity or the other, research conducted by the Praja Foundation stated.
The revelation is part of the Foundation’s annual White Paper on the State of Policing and Law and Order in Mumbai for the year 2021. The organisation’s research this year laid special emphasis on crimes against women and children, tracking the rapidly increasing numbers of crimes registered, the high pendency of cases in court and the patterns observed in analysis of cases.
According to Praja’s report, a total of 888 cases of rape were registered in Mumbai in 2021, of which 524 were under the POCSO Act. In 2020, out of the 767 rape cases registered in the city, 445 were under the POCSO Act.
The report further stated that in 54% of these cases, the accused were either friends, romantic partners, friends made on social media or those exploiting the victims with the promise of marriage. Further, 26% were people employed by the families of the victims, 12% were neighbours, 3% were family friends and 8% were parents or other guardians.
“It is imperative to conduct widespread awareness among children in schools and other stakeholders about these crimes,” said Nitai Mehta, Managing Trustee of Praja Foundation while speaking at a press conference.
The city also witnessed other crimes under the POCSO Act like sexual harassment and abuse of children for pornography and the total cases under the Act registered in 2021 stood at 1,048, as compared to 964 in 2020. In 97% of the total cases, the victims were girls.
According to their research, 97% cases of crimes against women and 95% of crimes against children were pending trial in 2021. Of these, 59% were cases of rape against children and out of the of 372 cases tried in POCSO Courts in 2021, 60% took more than one year to complete, from the time of registration of the offence.
A senior Mumbai Police officer said that due to the rapid technological advancements, it had become increasingly easy to prey on children through the internet.
The Praja Foundation’s analysis also showed that out of the total cases registered in 2021, 67% were pending for investigation at the end of the year, while 94% were pending trial. The conviction rate in Mumbai for the year 2021 stood at 48%.
According to the analysis, which is based on data obtained from the State Crime Records Bureau and the information obtained under the Right to Information Act, a total of 1,59,746 cases were registered under the Indian Penal Code in 2021, out of which 67% cases were pending for investigation at the end of the year. Out of the cases investigated, a charge sheet was filed in 27% cases, while 5% cases were closed at the investigation stage with a Summary Report filed in the concerned court.
Praja also found that a total of 2,92,203 cases under the IPC were to be tried in courts for IPC in Mumbai in 2021, out of which 94% cases were pending trial at the end of the year. Of the 16,970 cases in which the trial was completed in 2021, 48% cases saw convictions, while the accused were acquitted in 52% cases.
“In 2015, the investigation and law and order units were separated based on the Standing Order passed by former Director General of Police, Sanjeev Dayal. It was to ensure police personnel involved in the investigation of cases are not diverted to perform law and order functions. However, the data for the segregation of unit staff has not been available on record since 2020,” said Rini Cherian, Programme Coordinator, Praja Foundation.
The organisation’s report further showed that Mumbai witnessed a total of 25,841 Class II serious offences, which include crimes like murder, attempt to murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing death by negligence and assault. Of these, 68% cases were pending for investigation at the end of the year and a chargesheet was filed in 27% out of the pending cases. Additionally, out of the 1,240 cases in which the trial was completed in 2021, the accused were convicted in 14% cases while the rest of the cases witnessed acquittals.