New Delhi, Mar 2: Terming the rise in crimes against children “disturbing”, the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) Saturday said there was a need to familiarise the city police with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
“In many cases, the Delhi Police do not conduct investigations in line with the requirements laid down by the POCSO Act, as they are not familiar with it,” a DCPCR member told IANS.
The act provides protection to all children under 18 years from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography. It provides for stringent punishments, which have been graded as per the gravity of the offence.
“DCPCR is conducting regular workshops with the Delhi Police and NGOs to familiarise them with this new act. The punishments range from simple to rigorous imprisonment of varying periods. There is also provision for fine, which is to be decided by court,” the official said.
The commission has also issued notice to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation on action taken in the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl in a municipal school in Mangolpuri area Thursday afternoon, which sparked protests in the area.
In another such incident, two children - a seven-year-old boy and his five-year-old sister - who had been missing for the past three days, were found dead near a railway track in central Delhi Saturday morning.
