Gaurav Gogoi has flagged what he termed a “grave child safety crisis” in Assam, citing a steep rise in crimes against children and urging the state government to take urgent corrective measures.
Referring to the latest Crime in India 2023 report by the National Crime Records Bureau, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president said cases of crimes against children in the state rose sharply from 4,084 in 2022 to 10,174 in 2023 - nearly doubling within a year. He noted that the national increase during the same period was significantly lower, highlighting Assam’s worrying trend.
The report also showed that Assam recorded the highest crime rate against children in the country at 84.2 per one lakh child population, more than double the national average of 39. Gogoi said the figures reflect serious gaps in child protection mechanisms and called for stronger institutional accountability.
Expressing concern, Gogoi said each statistic represents a child whose safety has been compromised and stressed that safeguarding minors must be treated as a top governance priority. He urged the state government to strengthen monitoring systems, improve coordination among agencies, and ensure faster investigation and prosecution in cases involving children.
The issue has drawn further attention amid reports of missing children in the state. According to information shared in the Assam Assembly earlier, more than 3,700 children have gone missing over the past three years, while authorities have rescued over 2,800 child labourers in the last five years.
Gogoi reiterated that ensuring children’s safety is a fundamental responsibility of the government and called for immediate, sustained intervention to address what he described as a growing crisis in Assam.
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