Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
This disturbing trend has exposed the dark underbelly of progressive state like Maharashtra where tiny tots are exposed to violence.
Maharashtra Uttar Pradesh Tamil Nadu
2012 159 114 59
2011 141 96 63
2010 169 138 90
A cursory glance at crime data reveals that in year 2012 the State witnessed 159 cases of murders wherein the victim was children in 0-10 age group. For the same year, Uttar Pradesh with far more geographical area and even vast population, the number of registered cases was about 114 cases, closely following Maharashtra.
As per the data of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), maximum number of murders of children between age 0 and 10 years was registered in Maharashtra. The phenomenon is same since past three years. In 2010, Maharashtra saw 169 cases but the next year i.e. in 2011 there was drop but still the reported cases were 141 that gave State the dubious distinction of leading this tally. However again in 2012 there was a 12 per cent hike in child murders and 159 cases were registered.
In Uttar Pradesh that follows Maharashtra in terms of crime against children, they recorded 114 cases in 2012, 96 cases in 2011 and 138 cases in 2010. This is quite surprising since in all other heads in Indian Penal Code, Uttar Pradesh is far ahead of Maharashtra. However, for children UP seems safe than Maharashtra, as far as crime statistics is concerned.
In Tamil Nadu, which stood third rank in 2010 there were 90 cases and the next year it went down to just 63 cases in 2011 and further down to 59 cases in 2012.
Additional Director General (ADG) of Crime Investigation Department (CID) S P Yadav told ‘The Hitavada’ that 175 children including 72 girls and 103 boys were murdered in 2012. In age group of 10 years to 15 years, 17 girls and 10 boys were killed. And, in age group of 15 years to 18 years, 24 girls and 12 boys were murdered in 2012.
Age group of 0 years to 10 years is the worst affected age group revealed CID’s study, the ADG averred. In 28 cases, mother first killed her child and then committed suicide along with the children. This phenomenon was witnessed across the State and parents were accused in murder of the their wards. The figures are quite shocking since parents are considered first line of defence for child.
The second reason for murder of children was suspicion that the child is born out of illicit relationship. Hence 10 such cases were registered in the state in 2012, he informed.
Four cases of kidnapping were also registered in specially urban areas. Dozen other of domestic violence and eight cases of female foeticide were registered in state, Yadav said while giving break-up of crime against children in State.
Age group 0-10 yrs
Maharashtra Uttar Pradesh Tamil Nadu
2012 159 114 59
2011 141 96 63
2010 169 138 90
By Dheeraj Fartode
Maharashtra may be leading State and a torch bearer of progressive ideas, many of which got adopted at national level. But beneath the sheen lies a dark underbelly, the rising graph of crime against children. In fact Maharashtra has put behind even populous Uttar Pradesh when it comes to murders of children in age group of 0-10 years. Largely forgotten the death of children in violent manner is off late a cause of concern, admitted top officials of Maharashtra Police.A cursory glance at crime data reveals that in year 2012 the State witnessed 159 cases of murders wherein the victim was children in 0-10 age group. For the same year, Uttar Pradesh with far more geographical area and even vast population, the number of registered cases was about 114 cases, closely following Maharashtra.
As per the data of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), maximum number of murders of children between age 0 and 10 years was registered in Maharashtra. The phenomenon is same since past three years. In 2010, Maharashtra saw 169 cases but the next year i.e. in 2011 there was drop but still the reported cases were 141 that gave State the dubious distinction of leading this tally. However again in 2012 there was a 12 per cent hike in child murders and 159 cases were registered.
In Uttar Pradesh that follows Maharashtra in terms of crime against children, they recorded 114 cases in 2012, 96 cases in 2011 and 138 cases in 2010. This is quite surprising since in all other heads in Indian Penal Code, Uttar Pradesh is far ahead of Maharashtra. However, for children UP seems safe than Maharashtra, as far as crime statistics is concerned.
In Tamil Nadu, which stood third rank in 2010 there were 90 cases and the next year it went down to just 63 cases in 2011 and further down to 59 cases in 2012.
Additional Director General (ADG) of Crime Investigation Department (CID) S P Yadav told ‘The Hitavada’ that 175 children including 72 girls and 103 boys were murdered in 2012. In age group of 10 years to 15 years, 17 girls and 10 boys were killed. And, in age group of 15 years to 18 years, 24 girls and 12 boys were murdered in 2012.
Age group of 0 years to 10 years is the worst affected age group revealed CID’s study, the ADG averred. In 28 cases, mother first killed her child and then committed suicide along with the children. This phenomenon was witnessed across the State and parents were accused in murder of the their wards. The figures are quite shocking since parents are considered first line of defence for child.
The second reason for murder of children was suspicion that the child is born out of illicit relationship. Hence 10 such cases were registered in the state in 2012, he informed.
Four cases of kidnapping were also registered in specially urban areas. Dozen other of domestic violence and eight cases of female foeticide were registered in state, Yadav said while giving break-up of crime against children in State.
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