5 minor girls are raped in Rajasthan daily; Opposition corners govt in assembly

Jaipur: On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the opposition parties tried to corner the state government in the state assembly on the matter of rape cases with young girls aged below 18 years. As per the data tabled by Parliamentary Affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal, as many as 5793 cases of rape with minor girls were reported in the state from January 2019 to January 2022. It means at least 5 rape cases are being reported every day in Rajasthan.

The Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria criticized the government for its failure to bring the culprits to justice. He said that despite Rajasthan having 54 special courts dealing with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offense Act, the accused people have got convictions in only 129 cases. It raises a question mark over the police’s investigation methods.

Dhariwal said that the police had arrested 6628 people for raping minor girls. In 129 cases, 398 accused have been convicted by the courts. The police have filed chargesheets in 4631 cases. Chargesheets are yet to be filed in only 283 cases.

Kataria said that ensuring swift justice is the only way to control crime against minor girls. Kataria questioned the functioning of the police and the delay in the investigation.

Dhariwal replied that there are only 54 courts. It is important to set up more courts to speed up hearings in these matters. The main reason for an increase in rape cases with minor girls is the pornographic material available on social media platforms.

“Pornographic material is served freely on social media, due to which there has been an increase in such incidents,” Dhariwal said.