Mr Tharoor, think about kids' safety in Kerala first

New Delhi, July 19: Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, who had tweeted "So many Kerala kids are studying in Karnataka & parents are worried about their safety," after the kidnap and rape of a girl in Manipal (Karnataka). The girl is from his constituency Thiruvanthapuram.

But Thatoor should look at the rot in his own backyard.

The highly literate state of Kerala has reported yet another shocking incident of child rape this week. The Kerala Police have arrested five persons, including the parents of a teenager, who was raped by her father and others since she was 11-years-old.

Parents pushed her into prostitution

Police said the girl, who is now 17-years-old, hailed from Alakode, a village in Kannur district. She had been taken to various places in Kannur and Kasaragod districts by her parents and pushed into prostitution for money.

Two cases under section 376 (rape) and three cases under Protection of Child from Sexual Offences have been registered against the accused. While the girl's mother was arrested yesterday, the other accused were arrested three days ago.

The girl, who is in a traumatised state, has been taken to a women's home in Kannur.

159 incidents of rape of minors

As per statistics from the state Crime Bureau, this year till March there have been 159 incidents of rape against children, 10 cases of murder, 33 cases of kidnapping and abduction. Other cases against children are 270. Till March this year, about 480 cases of crime against children have been recorded in the state. During 2012, 1324 cases have been recorded of which 455 are rape cases.

When it comes to incest, Kerala is at dubious number two with 47 cases and Maharashtra tops the list with 77 cases in 2012.

As many as 482 rape cases had been registered in Kerala in the first three months of this year, as per the crime statistics released by the State police. Of these,159 victims were minors.

The figures show that on an average, five rape cases had been registered by the police each day between January and March. During the whole of last year, 1,474 rape cases were registered by the police in the State and 455 of the rape victims were minors.

Thiruvananthapuram is worst culprit

The district-wise break up of the statistics, Thiruvananthapuram district topped the list with 41 rape cases, followed by Kollam with 39 rape cases. As many as 38 rape cases each were registered in Ernakulam and Kozhkode districts during the period. Pathanamthitta had the lowest, with six cases.

Seven dowry-related deaths had taken place in the State during the first three months of this year and Thiruvananthapuram district again topped the list with three such deaths. During the whole of last year, the police had registered 32 dowry-related deaths in the State, with Thiruvananthapuram district topping the list with eight such deaths.

The number of molestation cases registered by the police in the State during the first three months of this year touched 1,259, with Thiruvananthapuram district again on the top with 257 cases. During the whole of last year, 3,375 molestation cases were registered in the State and Thiruvananthapuram district topped that list too with 767 such cases.

A total of 61 women and 33 children were kidnapped in Kerala during the first three months of this year. When it came to kidnapping of women, Kollam district topped with 11 cases. Last year, 214 women and 147 children were kidnapped in the State. The number of eve teasing cases registered in the State from January to March this year is low 175.

A total of 3,480 crimes against women in the State have been registered by the police during the first three months of this year and the highest is in Thiruvananthapuram district, with 473 cases.

Tamil Nadu too joins the bad list

Chennai has shown a 30 per cent jump during 2012 compared to the previous year, in crimes committed against children, which include murder, kidnapping, infanticide, foeticide and child-trafficking.

The national crime records bureau (NCRB), said 83 cases of crimes against children were registered in 2011 in the city and it increased to 108 in 2012.

But the city has fared better, compared to other metros, with Delhi registering 3,635, Kolkata, 229, Mumbai, 517, and Bengalaru, 551 cases of crime against children.The state also recorded a 12 per cent increase in crimes committed against children in 2012, compared to the previous year. Tamil Nadu has 1.8 crore children, according to ministry of health and family welfare.

A severe backlog of cases has hampered delivery of justice on time. According to the national crime record bureau report, the country has a backlog of 78,342 cases related to crimes committed against children.
Kidnapping and abduction account for 32 per cent, followed by rape, which accounts for 29 per cent of the total backlog of cases

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