New Delhi: On average, the first three months of 2025 and 2026 saw Delhi recording more than 250 Pocso Act cases every month.Data revealed that last year, till March 31, police registered 843 FIRs under the Act, solving 688 cases and making 987 arrests. This year, in the corresponding period, 798 Pocso cases have been recorded, with 655 solved and 913 suspects arrested, averaging about 10 arrests a day. Data was available only for the first three months for both the years.Earlier, in 2024, Delhi registered 1,553 Pocso cases. While 1,512 cases were reported in 2022, 1,799 cases were registered in 2023.Police said a recurring pattern in the cases was that the suspects were often known to the survivors, and included relatives, friends, neighbours and tuition teachers, making reporting and prosecution more difficult.“In most cases, the perpetrators knew their targets beforehand, often belonging to their immediate or extended social circles, and had easy access to their houses,” an officer said.Officers said such familiarity can lead to pressure, fear or emotional ties, increasing the chances of survivors turning hostile during trial. Investigators also flagged social media as an emerging route through which strangers target minors.Police said there have also been cases where homeless children were targeted by strangers. In Jan this year, a 10-year-old homeless girl in central Delhi was allegedly abducted by an e-rickshaw driver, raped and left unconscious in a forested area.Child welfare experts said survivors often take weeks or even months to report abuse because of trauma and confusion, making sensitive handling during investigations crucial. Police stressed that early reporting and regular communication between parents and children can play a key role in preventing abuse and ensuring swift action. In several recent cases, chargesheets were filed within days of the complaint, reflecting faster investigation timelines.Psychologists pointed to an increasing influence of social media on potential perpetrators and easy, wide accessibility of explicit online content as major contributing factors to such crimes.Dr Rajiv Mehta, senior consultant psychiatrist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said such people often target children because they are more vulnerable and can easily be overpowered. They can also be intimidated, with warnings that they or their families would be harmed if they disclose the abuse. “In most cases, the aggressors were familiar with the minors,” he said.To curb such incidents, Dr Mehta stressed the importance of educating kids about appropriate and inappropriate touch. “Parents should regularly engage with their children about their daily lives and foster an environment at home where they feel safe and comfortable speaking up,” he added.According to Dr Rajat Mitra, a professor of forensic psychology, brain circuitry plays a crucial role in how individuals respond to such situations. “For most adults, coming across children triggers warm, protective instincts, such as the urge to play with or comfort them. However, in the case of a sexual predator, the same situation is likely to provoke inappropriate and unnatural responses, often shaped by a combination of neurological factors and the environment in which a person was born and raised,” he said.
