Hassan: Sexual assault incidents involving children in Hassan district rose from 128 cases reported between April and Dec 2023 to 525 cases in the first seven months of 2026. During the same period, rape cases increased from 13 to 57.Experts urged the state govt to come out with a comprehensive intervention scheme, saying most sexual assault cases involving children are linked to mobile and social media addiction, infatuation and related factors.According to data furnished by home minister Priyank Kharge to a question raised by Arkalgud MLA A Manju during the recently concluded assembly session, 157 sexual assault incidents involving children were reported in the district in 2024. The number declined to 135 in 2025. However, 525 cases were registered in the seven-month period ending July 2026.The district reported 18 rape cases in 2024 and 19 in 2025. Till the end of July 2026, 57 rape cases were recorded.The data showed that between April 1, 2023, and July 31, 2026, Hassan district recorded 945 incidents of sexual assault on children. During the same period, 107 rape, 119 murder, 21 robbery, 1,927 theft, 556 gambling, four cricket betting, 106 matka and 497 ganja cases were registered.Hassan-based activist and writer Roopa Hassan observed that sexual harassment cases involving children are mostly due to infatuation and the impact of mobile phones.“The children from poor families, belonging to single parents, are lured under the pretext of love and later deserted. In Hassan district, social media influence on children is going out of control. These two factors are responsible for around 90% of the cases registered in the district,” she said.“Teenage pregnancy cases are also increasing in the district. There is an urgent need for govt intervention, including proper monitoring of teenage girl children in the schools, mandatory background verification of the school bus-van drivers, and a strict ban on social media use by the teenagers,” she said.Manju alleged that crime rates are increasing due to lapses by the police department and the state govt. He told TOI that the weaker sections of society are the worst affected.In Hassan district alone, several murder cases have been reported in the last two years, he said. “If the police department monitors criminals properly and takes stringent action, crimes will come down.”He also said diminishing moral values and a lack of moral education are reasons for the increase in crime rates, adding that many educated people are also getting involved in criminal activities for different reasons.
