Bengaluru:Â The year 2014 saw a number of child sexual abuse cases in Bengaluru. Out of 289 cases registered under Protection of Children against Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) in the last two years, there were only eight trials and two convictions.
The IT city registered nearly three cases every week. In July 2014, a three-year-old child was allegedly gang raped by two gym instructors in a school in East Bengaluru. In October, a kindergarten student was allegedly raped in a North Bengaluru school and in December, a three-year-old child was allegedly raped by a school assistant.
Hemant Nimbalkar, Joint Commissioner (Crime), said, “We have to see the reasons for the acquittal, whether technical grounds or whether witnesses did not co-operate with prosecution.
The law in fact states that POCSO cases should, ideally, be wrapped up in a year.
Child rights activist Shaibya Saldanha said, “Judges and courts are highly overloaded. Ideally, they should have judges who are dedicated to children’s cases and special training for POCSO and even other sections of the IPC.”
Despite public pressure for speedy action, trials for many of the rape cases are yet to start.