The courts have been burdened due to the increasing crime cases with women and the girl child because of which justice is delayed. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) has four courts in the district to protect children from sex offenders, despite this, 1,400 cases are pending since 2012. Corona is also one of the main reason for this, due to which the work is stopped since 6 months.
The Yogi government has expressed concern over the crimes against women and children and has instructed for immediate justice. Mission Shakti will start from October 17.
In such a case, the court will give priority hearing in these cases. Currently, there are four courts of Pocso in Aligarh, which were formed in February 2020 and 1500 cases were pending at that time. Earlier the hearing was in the same court. As soon as the courts were formed, the corona pandemic started due to which all the work stopped and the number of pending cases rises. After the Hathras case, the government has campaigned in the entire state and instructed to be serious about the crime against women and girls.
Mahesh Chandra, Special Public Prosecutor, POCSO court, said that the efforts are made to deal with the issues of Pocso on priority. The government has started the campaign to punish the accused more quickly in such cases. It will be a priority to provide justice to the victims in cases of crime against girls.
On an average 30-40 cases per month are registered for a crime against girls. Earlier, due to a single court, criminals were punished in only 5-6 cases, but after the formation of new courts, 20-25 cases are settled in the month.
POCSO Act was enacted in the year 2012 to protect children below 19 years of age from sexual offenders, sexual harassment and pornography.