Over 9,000 accused of rape, molestation held in 2016-17

New Delhi: From the year 2016 till August 2017, Delhi Police has arrested more than 9,000 accused involved in rape and molestation of women and minors.

According to police data accessed by Millennium Post, more than 2,500 cases of rape and molestation with the minors were registered. The data revealed that around 3,672 accused were arrested for their involvement in rape cases from the year 2016 to August 2017 whereas more than 6,000 people were arrested on the charges of molestation.

The data further claimed that in 2016, 902 cases of rape and 918 cases of molestation with minors were also registered while in 2017 (till August), 629 cases of rape and 482 cases of molestation with minors were filed.

According to police, most of the accused involved in the case were arrested quickly and the police left no stone unturned in the investigation.

The recent arrests were of a British national from south Delhi who was involved in sexually harassing three visually impaired children and one peon who sexually assaulted a minor girl inside the school. Police sources said that in many cases the accused were known to victims. In 2016, Delhi Police also registered 2,155 rape and 4,165 molestation cases whereas in current year (till August) more than 1,400 rape and over 2,000 cases of molestation was registered.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had launched several awareness campaign on protection of children from sexual abuse.

According to Rupa Kapoor, member of NCPCR, they are coming with an initiative in which more than 90 per cent of movie theatres in the country will be displaying an advertisement providing awareness on protection of children from sexual abuse.

"The awareness among the people is very much important. We have recently with Indigo Airlines have launched the intiative where messages about child sexual abuse will be printed by airlines in their e‐ticket itinerary and bus grab handle," said Kapoor.

Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik has also directed district DCPs to contact and pursue school authorities in their respective areas to enhance the security of children in schools.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma told Millennium Post that for the safety and security of the children, they have taken several steps. Schools have been told to install CCTV cameras in sensitive locations and police verification should be done for the staff employed, especially bus drivers, conductors, peon and other support staff.

Delhi Police were also sending lady constables to JJ clusters areas where they met families and told them about safety and security. "Yes I can say initiatives of Delhi Police have helped women and children. Now people are coming and reporting crime to police and we are taking every step to curb the crime in the Capital," said Verma.