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A total of 1,77,335 cases of crime against children were registered in the country in 2023, showing an increase of 9.2% over 2022, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report.
The data compiled by the NCRB showed that the crime rate in 2023 stood at 39.9 per one-lakh child population in comparison to 36.6 in 2022.
In 2022, a total of 1,62,449 cases of crimes against children were recorded, while the number stood at 1,49,404 in 2021.
“A total of 1,77,335 cases of crime against children were registered during 2023, showing an increase of 9.2% over 2022 (1,62,449 cases),” the NCRB report said.
In percentage terms, major crime heads under “Crime Against Children” in 2023 were “Kidnapping and Abduction of Children” (79,884 cases, 45%) and “Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act” (67,694 cases, 38.2%).
Victim demographics show that 762 victims were aged below six years, 3,229 aged between six and 12 years, 15,444 aged between 12 and 16 years and 21,411 aged between 16 and 18 years, bringing the total number of child victims to 40,846.
Most were girls in rape-related sections.
Of the 40,434 cases, the offenders were known to the victims in 39,076, which included family members in 3,224 cases, family friends or neighbours or employers or other known persons in 15,146 cases and friends or online friends or live-in partners on the pretext of marriage in 20,706 cases.
These figures include 40,434 cases of penetrative sexual assault (sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act, often combined with IPC section 376 for rape), affecting 40,846 victims. Aggravated assaults and harassment (sections 8 and 10 of the POCSO Act with IPC section 354) followed with 22,444 cases.
Kidnapping and abduction emerged as the largest contributor, with 79,884 IPC cases reported, victimising 82,106 children – a rate of 18 per one lakh.
Over 58,927 of these were general abductions, including 37,844 instances where the missing children were deemed kidnapped.
Notably, 14,637 cases involved abducting minor girls to compel marriage.
Other significant IPC crimes included 1,219 murders (1,384 victims), with 89 linked to rape or POCSO violations; 3,050 simple hurt cases and 373 cases of abetment to suicide. Special and Local Laws (SLL) beyond the POCSO Act added to the tally, with 6,038 cases under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and 1,390 under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act.
Regionally, Madhya Pradesh topped the list with 22,393 total cases (rate: 77.9), followed by Maharashtra (22,390; rate: 62) and Uttar Pradesh (18,852; rate: 22.1).
Assam reported a sharp spike of 10,174 cases (rate: 84.2, the highest among the states), while Bihar saw 9,906 cases. Union Territories like the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (143.4) and Delhi (140.3) had disproportionately high rates, with Delhi alone registering 7,769 cases.
While the overall rate of charge sheets was 64.3%, it varied widely – high in Tamil Nadu (93.7%) and Andhra Pradesh (91.3%), but low in Delhi (31.7%) and Haryana (39.6%).
Police disposal showed 1,12,290 cases charge-sheeted out of 2,57,756 investigated, with 80,198 pending at the end of the year (pendency: 32.2%).
Published – September 30, 2025 05:27 pm IST
