Thiruvananthapuram: Over 2,000 cases were registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in Kerala last year.
According to the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, police records from January-December 2016 show that as many as 2,093 POCSO cases were registered.
The capital city Thiruvananthapuram topped the list with 256 cases, followed by Malappuram 241, Ernakulam 217 and Thrissur 190.
Commission chairperson Shobha Koshy said in a statement that of the 2,491 accused in the cases, 1,663 were known to the children.
The commission said 1,029 children in the 15-18 age group and 800 in the 10-14 age group were victims of sexual crimes in the southern state in 2016.
This shows that teenagers have to be given extra care by parents and authorities.
The crime took place in the homes of children in 817 cases, 88 in schools and 252 cases in the house of the accused. In 406 cases, the crime was committed in public places, the commission said.
The commission received 1,298 cases relating to child rights violations till September 30.
While in 2016-17, the child rights body received 2,512 complaints, it was 1,582 in the previous fiscal.
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