Srinagar: Sexual offences against children accounted for more than one-third of all cases of crimes against children registered in Jammu and Kashmir in 2024, with official data showing 308 cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The National Crime Records Bureau data puts the total number of crimes against children in J&K at 887 during the year. Of these, POCSO cases alone accounted for around 35 percent.
A large majority of the POCSO cases involved allegations of penetrative sexual assault. As many as 228 cases were registered under Sections 4 and 6 of the law, which cover penetrative and aggravated penetrative sexual assault.
The remaining cases were spread across several other categories of offences. Sections 8 and 10, dealing with sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault, accounted for 65 cases.
The NCRB data further shows seven cases under Section 12, which relates to sexual harassment of children, with five cases registered under Sections 14 and 15, covering offences involving the use of children for pornographic purposes.
Three cases were recorded under Sections 17 to 22, covering abetment and other related offences under the POCSO Act.
Taken together, the figures indicate that offences covered by the POCSO Act constituted a substantial component of the child-related crime recorded in Jammu and Kashmir during 2024.
