In Telangana 1,640 cases under Pocso pending

ACCORDING TO CID officials, 671 cases of child abuse were registered in 2015, the number rising to 819 in 2016, while this year, more than 50 cases have already been reported.

The Telangana government may have failed to establish fast-track courts to deal with offences against women and children, but it has succeeded in establishing two child-friendly courts in the capital, one of them inside Nampally court complex and another at Bharosa Centre within Cyberabad police limits.

In 2015, during a joint conference of chief ministers and chief justices at Delhi, state minister for housing and law A. Indrakaran Reddy had announced at a press conference that the state government was planning to establish fast-track courts to deal with offences against women and children.

Sources in the Andhra Pradesh law department said 34 fast-track courts are functioning in the state, established as per the recommendations of the Eleventh Finance Commission. They added that the fast-track courts received financial aid from the Centre until 2015, after which, though Central funds have dried up, the state government is continuing to operate the courts.

Sources in Telangana legal circles admit that there has been an increase in offences against women and children, and the Crime Investigation Department (CID) is focusing on their protection.

According to CID officials, 671 cases of child abuse were registered in 2015, the number rising to 819 in 2016, while this year, more than 50 cases have already been reported.

High Court records show that as many as 1,640 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) are pending in different courts in the state.