Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala registered a shocking count of 2,180 POCSO cases, a section of criminal cases against sexually abused children, this year so far. Most of the cases so far were registered in the month of June.
It is the capital district, Thiruvananthapuram, registered the highest number of cases. Here, 89 cases were registered in the city, while 200 were in rural areas.
Malappuram is in the second position, registering 242 cases, while Pathanamthitta registered the least, with 81 cases. Among the total, the Railway Police registered five.
In the state, there were 4,641 cases in 2023, 4,518 in 2022, 3,516 in 2021 and 3,042 in 2020. These statistics show nothing but gradual growth in cases under this genre in the state over the years, despite the strict POCSO Act 2012, which was amended in 2019 with harsher punishments.
Although there are more than fifty POCSO courts in the state for speedy disposal of cases, thousands of cases are still pending. It is alleged that the results of scientific tests are not received in time, and witnesses cannot be produced in court, which leads to the trial of cases getting prolonged. A special committee is also in place to intervene to speed up the trial of POCSO cases, as justice is often delayed.
The POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) Act, 2012, came into force on 14 June 2012. The law ensures justice for those up to the age of 18, regardless of their gender, from sexual exploitation. The law also aims to protect the mental and physical development of children as individuals.