Hyderabad: The rate of crimes against children has gone up by seven per cent in just one year in Telangana state.
In the first week of April 2016, an infant barely a few months old was found with her throat slit in her own home in Neredmet. The parents told the police that a robber had murdered their child. Investigations indicated that the mother had committed the murder. Later, 27-year-old D. Poornima confessed that she had used a shaving blade to cut her own child’s throat.
Another shocking murder earlier this year was of a 12-year-old boy who was allegedly sodomised and killed by his neighbour in Mailardevpally. His body was thrown on the railway tracks after the murder.
This month, seven-year-old G. Sai Prasanna had her throat slit. She was found in the bathroom of her home when her parents were away.
Children are increasingly becoming victims of violence and ill-treatment and exposed to dangerous conditions.
In 2014, 17.3 per cent of offences were committed against children in the state; in 2015 the figure went up to 24.1 per cent. The rate of crime is calculated by dividing the number of offences with the population of children.
This rate of crimes against children is shockingly higher than in several other states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
As many as 85 children were murdered in Telangana state last year, against 76 kids having been done to death in 2014. The number of children harmed in different ways is also alarming.
Unicef's recent report, ‘Violence against children’, says that girls are more likely to be victims of violence and neglect in India, including in Telangana. Moreover, the report states that girl children are vulnerable inside their own homes and outside.
