Disturbing Trend: Sharp Spike In Sexual Crimes Against Minors And Children In Bihar

Over the past three months in Bihar, media reports say more than a dozen incidents of sexual violence have been recorded. In most of these cases, the victims were minor girls, several of them younger than five.

In Parsa, an area adjoining Patna, the state capital, two accused were arrested for allegedly raping a three-year-old girl. The incident took place on April 3. The police say it appears to be a case of gang rape. Among the two persons arrested on the basis of evidence, one is the child’s uncle. According to the fact-finding organisation PART-3, the uncle was addicted to injectable drugs. He needed money to buy narcotics and allegedly sold his three-year-old niece. The man who bought the child was also a drug user and is accused of assaulting her. A case has been registered under the POCSO Act, and the child is undergoing treatment at Patna AIIMS. Medical examinations of both the victim and the accused have been conducted, and the reports are awaited.

This was not an isolated incident. On April 6, another deeply disturbing case of sexual violence came to light in Jehanabad district. In the Kadouna police station area, a five-year-old child was sexually assaulted and murdered in a private school hostel. Medical examination and post-mortem confirmed sexual abuse. According to the police, after committing the assault, the accused slit the child’s throat with a sharp weapon to prevent identification and also mutilated the child’s private parts. The case has been registered under the POCSO Act along with murder charges, and given its seriousness, the authorities have spoken of conducting a speedy trial.

A long list of incidents of sexual violence has emerged in Bihar since the beginning of this year, raising serious questions about law and order, social security, and the state of society. A quick look at incidents over the past three months shows a clear pattern. On January 6, 2026, a NEET student was raped inside a hostel in Patna and later died during treatment. On January 11, a young woman was gang-raped inside a moving car in Purnea. On January 17, in Buxar, a 15-year-old girl on her way to tuition was abducted and gang-raped. On February 9, a six-year-old child was brutally murdered by a neighbour. On March 11, in Saran, a Class 10 student was assaulted and thrown into a well. On March 25, a 23-year-old woman was assaulted in an OYO hotel in Patna. On March 28, in Noorsarai in Nalanda district, a woman was publicly targeted in an attempted sexual assault, and the incident was filmed and circulated. Earlier this month, on April 1, near Punpun Ghat in Patna, a 28-year-old woman was allegedly drugged inside an auto-rickshaw and gang-raped.

The pattern of sexual violence against minor girls in Bihar has been rising sharply in recent years, and most of these cases involve young children. However, the police claim the number of rapes has reduced. According to a report released in January 2026 by Bihar’s Director General of Police Vinay Kumar, 2,025 rape cases were registered in 2025, which is 8.2 per cent lower than in 2024. In more than 1,150 of these cases, provisions of the POCSO Act were invoked. According to Bihar Police data, a total of 3,61,364 people were arrested in different criminal cases in 2025. While such large numbers reflect police activity, social organisations do not consider these measures sufficient to prevent such crimes.

Over the past five years, incidents of sexual violence against minor girls in Bihar have increased compared to earlier periods. According to one report, about 4,241 girls in the state were victims of serious crimes during this time. NCRB data for 2022–23 records a 9.2 per cent increase in crimes against children. In response, the Bihar Police has emphasised speedy trials during 2025–26.

To understand how the police view the rising pattern of sexual violence against minor girls, Outlook India contacted the Bihar DGP, who directed the publication to speak with the ADG Headquarters. The ADG Headquarters, in turn, suggested contacting the ADG Vigilance Section. Despite repeated attempts, calls to the ADG Vigilance Section went unanswered. Their response will be included once it is received.

Social organisations believe the spread of narcotic substances is a major factor behind the rise in such incidents. Pratima Kumari of the organisation PART-3 says, “The increasing use of injectable drugs is contributing to this trend in Bihar. In many fact-finding visits, we found the accused were under the influence of drugs during the assault. Five years ago, this was not so common. ‘Dry drugs’ are worsening psychological distortions. Many of these individuals watch pornography online. The consequences are visible in such crimes.”

Since prohibition was introduced in Bihar in 2016, the illegal trade in synthetic and injectable drugs has expanded. Concern over its growing impact was raised by both the ruling side and the opposition during the state legislature’s budget session. According to the Narcotics Control Bureau’s annual reports, seizures in 2015 included 14.37 kilograms of cannabis and 1.12 kilograms of heroin. In 2023, seizures included 7,153 kilograms of cannabis, 93.45 kilograms of hashish and 14.88 kilograms of heroin. In 2024, authorities seized 4.20 kilograms of cocaine, 18,356 kilograms of cannabis, 194.64 kilograms of hashish and 53.35 kilograms of heroin.

Activist Nivedita Jha also links the rise in sexual violence against children to the provision of capital punishment in rape cases. She says there is a need to study why such crimes increasingly target younger girls and why victims are often killed after the assault. In her view, harsher punishment provisions may have unintentionally encouraged perpetrators to eliminate evidence by killing victims who are easier to target.

She further adds that broader social conditions must also be examined, including the growing cruelty visible in society, the nature of political discourse, and recent court observations in sexual violence cases, some of which have been deeply troubling.

In recent years, several judicial observations during hearings in sexual assault cases have drawn strong objections from social groups. These include remarks by the Allahabad High Court describing the touching of a minor’s breasts as “preparation” rather than attempted rape; the Bombay High Court’s refusal to treat an act as sexual assault in the absence of “skin-to-skin contact”; a Karnataka High Court observation questioning the conduct of a victim who had fallen asleep; and a Madhya Pradesh High Court order granting bail on the condition that the accused tie a rakhi to the survivor. Such remarks have generated widespread controversy. Nivedita Jha believes such responses also shape attitudes toward sexual violence in society.

She also points to a caste dimension in these crimes, noting that many survivors belong to Dalit or other backward communities. According to NCRB data for 2022–23, Bihar ranks fourth in the country in crimes against Scheduled Castes, with 6,509 cases recorded in a single year. Among these, cases of rape and sexual assault against Dalit women are especially serious. The most worrying aspect is the conviction rate, which remains between 7 and 10 per cent, while more than 90 per cent of cases remain pending in courts, highlighting delays in the justice process and gaps in protection mechanisms.

The organisation Part-3 studied 300 judgments in cases registered under the SC/ST Act and raised serious concerns about police functioning. It found that in 91 per cent of cases, the investigating officer did not appear in court to testify, even though such testimony is essential in criminal trials. In many cases involving assault, no medical report was found on record.

Advocate Syed Imran from the organisation says this weakens prosecution and often leads to acquittals. He adds that cases are sometimes managed at the police station level, particularly when the accused belong to dominant castes, and pressure is exerted in villages. Since survivors’ families are often socially and economically vulnerable, they cannot pursue cases effectively. Many are also unaware of their legal rights. At times, FIRs are not registered properly, or strong provisions under the SC/ST Act are diluted, weakening the case from the outset.

Imran further alleges that although negligence occurs generally in sexual violence cases, it is more pronounced when the victims belong to Dalit or Adivasi communities.

Purnea MP Pappu Yadav, who has been meeting survivors’ families in recent months and demanding speedy trials, places greater responsibility on society than on the police administration. He says society remains silent when children take drugs, when crimes are committed in the name of caste and religion, and when perpetrators receive protection on those grounds. Even in cases of domestic violence, matters are often suppressed within the family and community, and when they do reach the police, efforts are made to settle them rather than pursue action.

He also says the opposition has become indifferent to rising crimes against women and raises the issue only during elections. He questions why ministers and legislators do not visit survivors after such incidents. He further alleges that despite repeated demands over several years for speedy trials in crimes against women, no concrete steps have been taken by the administration.

On these incidents, the Bihar State Women’s Commission maintains that it is in regular touch with the concerned district administrations and continues to issue directions for necessary action. Speaking to Outlook India, Commission chairperson Professor Apsara Mishra said, “In all recent cases, I have written to the concerned district magistrates and the administration asking them to take action. Since the Commission deals with cases involving women above the age of eighteen, there are certain limitations to what we can do. But such incidents are also linked to changes in the social structure. I feel people today have become less socially concerned. Earlier, children grew up within joint families where someone would intervene if something went wrong. Now society is moving towards nuclear families, where both parents are working, and children are left to depend on mobile phones or are simply left on their own. Mobile phones today are both a blessing and a curse, and children are absorbing many harmful influences through them.”

Responding to the questions being raised about the police administration, Mishra said that in some cases the police have done commendable work, while in others their response has not been satisfactory.

Although incidents of crimes against women continue to occur regularly in Bihar, the brutal case involving a NEET aspirant at Shambhu Girls’ Hostel in Shastri Nagar, Patna, drew particular attention. Protests were held across the state in response. On January 6, 2026, the student was found unconscious in her hostel room and was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition. She later died during treatment on 11 January. Initially, serious allegations were made that the police had tried to suppress the case, which led to widespread public anger and protests. After the medical report confirmed rape and public pressure intensified, the investigation was handed over to the CBI. This was the first such major incident after the formation of the new government in Bihar, and it drew criticism of the state government from all sides.