Incidents of children falling prey to molestation and abuse have witnessed an unprecedented rise in Ranchi since the imposition of lockdown in March, members of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), a judicial body that looks into cases of crimes against children, highlighted on Sunday.
As per records with the CWC in Ranchi, at least 26 cases under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were lodged in the district since the end of March. The findings are particularly alarming as most children stayed at home during this period under the safe custody of their parents or local guardians, CWC members said.
“Around 20 cases under POCSO were registered in Ranchi from January to March end, when children moved out of their houses. More than 26 cases have been reported since March,” CWC member Tanushree Sarkar said. “Most of the victims are in the age bracket of 10 years to 15 years, and many of them were molested by their fathers and cousins,” she added.
Almost all the victims were school students and stayed at home during the lockdown, said Pratima Tiwari, another CWC member, whose tenure in ended on June 19. “Most of the victims belong to middle class and lower middle class families, and their perpetrators were related to them,” she said.
While the figures are already quite startling, child rights activists fear that the findings could well be only the tip of the iceberg. Many children do not report such incidents and suffer in silence, they said, claiming that the count of children suffering in silence during the lockdown could be much higher.
“In some of the cases reported to us, the children were stuck with their relatives under one roof during the lockdown, and the latter tried to take advantage of the situation,” said Sarkar.
The Pioneer is withholding the names and localities of the victims in accordance with a Supreme Court directive that prohibits the media from disclosing identity of a child subjected to molestation or even other details about the victim that may eventually disclose their identity
CWC is a judicial body under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015. As per the Act, the Committee has the authority to dispose of cases for the care, protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation of the children in need of care and protection, as well as to provide for their basic needs and protection
Almost all the victims in Ranchi during the lockdown period were enrolled in school, said Pratima Tiwari, an ex-CWC member, whose tenure in the committee ended on June 19. “Most of the victims belong to middle class and lower middle class families of urban Ranchi,” she said.
“We can say that every third day a child was molested in Ranchi during the lockdown. But going by my personal experience, I would say that such incidents occur more often than once in three days,” she said.