‘Over 3.25L child abuse cases disposed of by fast-track courts’

New Delhi: A total of more than 3.25 lakh cases have been disposed of by 746 fast-track special courts -- including 405 exclusive POCSO courts -- operational across 30 states and Union territories, the Women and Child Development Ministry said on Friday.

The fast-track special courts (FTSCs) have been formed to expedite trials in cases of rape and child sexual abuse, the ministry informed Lok Sabha in a written response on Friday.

These courts have disposed of more than 3.25 lakh cases as of April 30, 2025, the ministry said. Uttar Pradesh leads with nearly 90,000 disposals, followed by Madhya Pradesh with over 31,000 and Kerala with over 25,000 cases, according to data shared by Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Savitri Thakur.

In response to another question, Thakur said 2 lakh Anganwadi centres have been approved to be upgraded as ‘Saksham Anganwadis’ for improved nutrition delivery and imparting early childhood care and education.

“To ensure that the police stations are more women friendly and approachable, as they would be the first and single point of contact for any woman walking into a police station, 14,658 women help desks (WHDs) have been set up, of which 13,743 are headed by woman police officers,” she said in response to another question.

To provide help and support to needy women and women in distress, an Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112) has been established in all the 36 states and UTs for various emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field/ police resources, Thakur said.

“Since its launch, more than 43 crore calls have been handled so far. In addition to ERSS, a fully-functional dedicated women helpline (WHL-181) is operational in 35 states/UTs except West Bengal.

The WHL has also been integrated with ERSS. So far, the women helplines have handled over 2.10 crore calls and assisted over 84.43 lakh women,” the minister said in another written response.