Odisha govt to form dedicated wing to probe offences against women, children
BHUBANESWAR: Against the backdrop of the rising violence against women and children, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced creation of a special wing under Odisha police to probe offences against such vulnerable groups.
“Crime against women and children remains our focus area. I announce the creation of a special wing in Odisha Police to look after offences against women and children. I expect that with these initiatives, quality services will be provided to the women and children,” Naveen said via virtual mode in the valedictory session of Odisha senior police officers’ conference on Wednesday.
The announcement came amid the outrage over the alleged rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl in Nayagarh in July and shoddy investigation by the local police into the sensitive case.
According to the national crime records bureau (NCRB), a total number of 23183 cases involving crime against women were registered in the state in 2019 as against 20274 such cases in 2018. The report placed Odisha at second place after Uttar Pradesh to have witnessed most number of cases relating to molestation of women in the state.
Crime against children has been increasing since the past few years. While altogether 3185 cases on crime against children were registered in the state in 2017, the cases increased to 5217 in 2018 and 7012 in 2019, the NCRB data revealed.
Odisha reported third highest cases relating to ‘missing of children deemed as kidnapped’ in 2019. Altogether 4316 children had gone missing in the state in 2019, the NCRB data revealed. Maharashtra topped with 5897 missing children and Madhya Pradesh 5449 such cases in 2019, the data said.
Naveen said he is happy to note that the law and order situation in the state remained peaceful in 2020. “I commend the Odisha police in handling the Corona pandemic situation with compassion and empathy. A progressive and sustainable improvement has been noticed in the Left Wing Extremism situation,” Naveen said.
The chief minister expressed concern over the low conviction rate. “It continues to be an area of concern. All possible steps should be taken to enhance the conviction rate by factoring in modern technology into the investigation,” Naveen said. He asked the police to conduct special drives against organized crimes and extortion rackets.
“Government is aware of the shortage of housing for frontline police personnel. Substantial funds will be allocated to fulfil such housing requirements. I am sure that the state police will come up with new ideas to improve its image by providing quality services,” Naveen said.