Chennai: Pocso crimes on rise, most are rape cases

CHENNAI: The city has witnessed a drastic rise in the number of cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, in the past three years. Of the 490 cases registered in three years, majority were for rape .


“While the number is alarming, it also indicates that more people are aware of the Act and are reporting instances of assault and abuse against children,” said a senior police officer.

Data received from the city police shows that the number of Pocso cases reported in the first half of 2019 was 131 against last year’s 98 cases in the corresponding period (see box).

Of the 131 cases reported in 2019, 89 were of rape. In 2017 and 2018, the number of rape cases reported were 84 and 145 respectively.

Police termed most of the rape cases as ‘love-rape’ involving girls between the age group of 15 and 18 and men between 19 and 23 years. Of the 89 rape cases reported in the first six months of 2019, around 67 involved this age group, while 2018 had seen 87 such cases. According to police, most of these girls said the sexual acts were consensual.

“The statistics are enough to consider re-looking at the age of consent,” said Kumar Shailabh, co-director of HAQ: Centre for Child Rights.

The Pocso Act defines a child as anyone below the age of 18. And irrespective of the fact that the sexual act was consensual or not, the Act entails seven to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. The newly amended Act has also included death penalty for sexual assault of children. But the age-factor in ‘love rape’ cases was reinforced by the Madras high court in April 2019, when Justice V Parthiban said there was a need to insulate teenagers from the draconian provisions of Pocso. For instance, a relationship involving a minor girl and a borderline major should be treated less stringently, as compared to an instance where the man is older than the girl by several years.

Kumar cited an instance where a 17-year-old girl had eloped with a 19-year-old boy, however, under the provisions of the Act, the boy was sentenced to nine years in prison. “In such cases, the girl will end up becoming more vulnerable and will only turn hostile. It’s time we consider our social dynamics and move accordingly,” he said.