JOIN USTill February alone this year, the Mumbai police have registered 36 rape cases. Out of them, 23 were cases of rape of minors. In 2009, a total of 182 rape cases were registered. Minors were victims in 128 of these cases. In 2008, a total of 216 cases were registered in the city in which 147 were cases where minors have been sexually assaulted.
Joint Police Commissioner Rajnish Seth (Law and Order) says that such cases are more as the culprits feel they can easily overpower the minor girls and after committing crimes, they can easily escape.
“In many cases, the culprit either is a relative, neighbour or someone living in the same locality where the girl stays. The culprits feel that they could get away after threatening the girls of dire consequences,” he said.
Parents should be more alert and take care of their children so that such incidents could be averted, Seth said. In order to reduce crime against women, children and senior citizens, Mumbai police had also started 103 helpline two years ago.
Nandita Shah, co-director of Akshara,believes that educating parents and minors about could help bring down such incidents. “Parents should not ignore what their daughters say,” she said.