It's official: NCRB reveals Delhi and Mumbai are India's most unsafe cities for children

Mumbai and Delhi have the highest incidence of crimes against children when compared to other metro cities, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Crime in India 2017 report released recently. It revealed that kidnapping and abduction (56.9%) followed by cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) (26.2%), comprised the majority of the crimes reported.

The NCRB report also added that the number of crimes against children increased by 37% from 2015 to 2017. Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh accounted for 14.8% of the total crimes, followed closely by Maharashtra at 13.1%. These three states together accounted for more than 45% of the total crimes committed against children in India. At the bottom of the list were the Northeast states of Nagaland (0.1%), Sikkim (0.1%) and Manipur (0.1%). Among states with higher populations, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat reported lesser incidences of crimes against children at 2.7% and 3.1% respectively.

 

This shocking report comes just a few months after an RTI filed by Mumbai-based activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh revealed that child kidnapping was on the rise in the Maximum City. “We have strong laws in place, but the execution of these laws is the main problem. For example, we have CCTVs installed in almost every nook and corner of Mumbai, but they are not monitored properly. Policemen have told me very honestly, ‘We don’t check the CCTVs to see if they work periodically; we only check when a crime has occurred.’ This is shameful. The Mumbai Police has a special cell dedicated to investigating kidnappings, but regular reviews do not happen. The Supreme Court has clearly stated that if a minor goes missing, the case should be considered as a kidnapping case. But this is not what happens in reality – the police tell kin things like ‘Your child will return in two days’ and ‘Look for them in your neighbourhood, they will be there’ before finally filing a case – and in many instances, it may have been too late,” says Shakeel.

JB Oli, Head – Programmes at Butterflies India, a Delhi-based organisation that works with vulnerable children (especially street children), has a different take on the issue. “We can blame legal structures all we want, but as adults, we should focus on family structures. I am not disagreeing with the fact that laws can be enforced better, but crimes against children can also be prevented to a certain extent if parents and/or guardians take more responsibility – you cannot neglect your child at any cost or treat them poorly,” he points out, adding, “In my experience, I have also seen that kidnapping cases have a lot of dimensions. A minor child who may have run away from home due to abuse or because their relationship is not accepted does not have a ‘voice’ per se. The parents immediately file a complaint saying their child was kidnapped, whereas the real issue might be something else. These factors are not considered in government statistics.”