West Bengal 4th in India in crimes against minors

KOLKATA: The Baguiati twin murders seem to buttress the recently released NCRB figures of 2021 that put Bengal in the fourth position among all the states in crimes against minors. Bengal is behind Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and UP.
According to the crime record, 9,523 cases of crime against children were registered in 2021, up from 6,191 in 2019. At 10,248, the figure was higher in 2020, the first pandemic year. At the same time, Bengal in 2021 had the lowest conviction rate, that of 10.3%, in the country. Moreover, among those abducted between 2019 and 2021 in Bengal, 75% were children. At the end of 2021, 17,169 people from Bengal were stated to be missing, and of them, 6,394 were abducted, NCRB record showed.
In 2021, Bengal registered 53 child murder cases, in which 58 kids were killed. The same year saw 52 cases of abetment to suicide. But only 13 cases of attempt to murder and 16 cases of grievous hurt were registered.
Among all the crimes committed against minors in 2021, 67% cases related to kidnapping and abduction. The high number, police said, contrary to allegations, kidnapping cases were indeed registered and not left as merely "missing". In fact, according to the SOP, if a child is reported to be missing, a kidnap or abduction case has to be registered in 24 hours. DGP Manoj Malaviya and Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal have also been instructing OCs and ICs to follow the protocol strictly. "Of the 6,394 cases, barely four were that of kidnapping for ransom," said a DIG.
Following Baguiati victims' families' complaints of lack of interest and lack of coordination in the force, Malaviya has instructed his officers to sensitize men on the ground to be more "humane, sensitive and professional" while dealing with unnatural derath and missing complaints. He called for a thorough shake-up so that the Missing Persons Bureau (MPB) in each district "reactivates and re-engages" their roles. He reminded that there should be a proper mechanism to check unidentified bodies and effective supervision should be carried out by seniors.
Of the total crimes against minors, 6,768 cases were registered under IPC, 2,607 under POCSO Act, 32 under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection for the Children Act) and five under the Immoral Trafficking Act. Four cases pertained to the Information Technology Act. But 31.2% cases pending to be addressed, 13,942 cases waited for completion of probe by the end of 2021, the NCRB data showed.