A public interest litigation (PIL) petition was filed in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the State government to obtain the Nirbhaya fund from the Centre and ensure 100% utilisation.
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Advocate A.P. Suryaprakasam, the petitioner, alleged that out of ₹190 crore, only ₹6 crore was spent by the State government in the last four years and that the unused money was returned to the Centre. Due to this, the rate of crimes against women and children was on the rise, he claimed.
Relying on data obtained under the Right to Information Act, Mr. Suryaprakasam claimed that 336 rape cases were booked in the State in 2016, 294 in 2017 and 341 in 2018. The corresponding figures for molestation cases was 854, 744 and 814. Further, 151 rape cases were registered between January 1 and May 31 this year.
The litigant added that around 10,000 crimes against women were reported in the State consistently for the last four years. In so far as crimes against children were concerned, 1,161 rape cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were booked in 2016.
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87 children were murdered in 2016, 65 in 2017, 3 in 2018 and 22 till May 31 this year, the petitioner claimed.
Referring to better utilisation of the Nirbhaya fund by other States in the country, the petitioner insisted that the Tamil Nadu government be directed to constitute a high level committee for the purpose.