More than 60 percent of rape victims are minors: NGO

Recently a Dalit minor girl was raped in a bus in Salem district. A team from 'Evidence' carried out a field study at the place of incident, with the victim and family. 

Kathir said such incidents involving sexual violence against minor girls should be informed to the District Child Welfare Officer. But, in this case the Omalur police had informed about the incident very late which in itself is a violation of rules. 

Also, a woman official in the rank of a SP should investigate the case and all the four accused should be booked under the Goondas Act. Apart from that quality treatment should be provided to the victim and a compensation of Rs 10 lakh should be provided.  

National Commission for Women (NCW) and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) should take it as a suo motu case and carry out investigation, said Kathir. He also said that in all the 60 to 65 of the rape cases in the state, the victims are minors but only in 2 percentage of the cases, the accused are convicted. 

In a majority of the cases, policemen are involved in organising khap panchayats, and receiving money from the accused. No scientific investigation is carried out by the investigating officers and hence NCW and NCPCR should organise a meeting with officials and release a white paper on the current status of violence against minor girls, demanded Kathir.