‘Alone child seeking help might be trap’, National Crime Investigation Bureau cautions women

In the last five years, the national crime records bureau (NCRB) recorded about 1 crore crimes against women.

National Crime Investigation Bureau, an independent Non Government Organization (NGO) on Sunday cautioned against a concerning trend in crimes against women. The organisation said the criminals reportedly exploit children who pretend to be lost in public and use them as bait to lure women.

Indian activists holds placards as they protest against violence and crimes against women, Siliguri ,July 26, 2013 (AFP/Getty Images)

“If a child is seen crying alone on the way and shows you his home address and asks you to drop him at that address, then take the child to the police station or call 100/112 and seek police help,” the tweet by NCIB read, cautioning not to take the child to the mentioned address.

NCIB warned that this may be trap as it is a new method of gangs of criminals who kidnap/rape girls or demand ransom. The organisation said that women travelling alone in public such as to school, college, office or market are specifically vulnerable prey in these situations, as the kids are more likely to approach them.

In the last five years, the national crime records bureau (NCRB) recorded about 1 crore crimes against women, the central government had informed Parliament in March.

The latest data available with NCRB, which is of crime records from 2021, stated that a 15.3% increase in crime against women has been recorded in that year with nearly 4.3 lakh cases registered. Of these, while cruelty by husband or his relatives remained the the prominent nature of crime against women; kidnapping and abduction formed 17.6 per cent of the total registered case and rape 7.4 per cent.

NCIB is an independent “crime and corruption killer team”. It's website describes the NGO as working to keep the society “crime free and safe”