One crime against a child every 10 hours in Lucknow: NCRB

Lucknow: Lucknow recorded 880 cases of crimes against children in 2024, according to the latest NCRB report, translating to nearly one offence every 10 hours and about 2.4 cases each day. The figures underline a troubling rise in offences involving minors in the state capital and have intensified concerns over child safety.

The NCRB report, titled ‘Crime against Children (IPC/BNS + SLL Crimes) in Metropolitan Cities – 2022-2024,’ shows a steep upward trend in Lucknow over the last three years. The city registered 398 such cases in 2022, which more than doubled to 844 in 2023, before rising further to 880 in 2024. This steady increase has placed Lucknow among metropolitan cities witnessing a significant surge in child-related crimes.

Among the 19 metropolitan cities covered in the report, Lucknow ranked eighth in terms of total registered cases in 2024. The NCRB data includes offences under the IPC/Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as Special and Local Laws. These cover a wide range of crimes such as kidnapping, offences under the POCSO Act, trafficking, physical abuse, abandonment, child labour-related offences and other forms of exploitation involving children.

Within Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow’s numbers were substantially higher than Kanpur, which recorded 379 cases in 2024. However, the city remained below Ghaziabad in the state comparison, where 713 such cases were registered. At the national level, Delhi reported the highest number of crimes against children at 7,662 cases, followed by Mumbai with 3,374 and Bengaluru with 2,026.

Experts said that the rise in numbers may partly be linked to greater awareness and improved reporting mechanisms, but they also stressed that the trend points to the urgent need for stronger preventive policing and better systems to protect vulnerable children. They called for faster investigations, closer monitoring of at-risk minors and stronger victim support services.

The NCRB’s police disposal data for metropolitan cities shows that Lucknow recorded a chargesheeting rate of 59.9% in crimes against children in 2024. The pendency percentage of investigations stood at 15.6%. During the year, the city disposed of 825 cases related to crimes against children, and no cases were reported as quashed or stayed at the investigation stage.

By the end of 2024, a total of 153 cases remained pending investigation in Lucknow. Compared with other metropolitan cities in Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow performed better than Ghaziabad, where the chargesheeting rate stood at 47.4%.

In terms of pendency, Lucknow’s 15.6% was significantly lower than several major metropolitan cities. Delhi recorded a pendency percentage of 51.3%, Mumbai 80.6%, Kolkata 53.1% and Nagpur 57.2%.

In terms of pendency, Lucknow’s 15.6% was significantly lower than several major metropolitan cities. Delhi recorded a pendency percentage of 51.3%, Mumbai 80.6%, Kolkata 53.1%, and Nagpur 57.2%.