15-day campaign against child rape ends As curtain came down on the 15-day 'Paree Pain Katha Tie' campaign against child rape on Tuesday, the state government asked superintendents of police (SPs) to continue with their efforts for prevention of such heinous crimes. Development commissioner R Balakrishnan, who attended the valedictory function of the campaign here, congratulated Odisha police and Unicef for having jointly organised the awareness drive across the state. Balakrishnan said the safety and security of women and children continues to be a priority for the state government. In the wake of rise in cases of child rapes, police launched the campaign on May 28. Fifteen specially-designed vehicles, equipped with LCD screens, covered 40,487 km in 30 districts and sensitised people about the safety of girls. Director general of police R P Sharma described the campaign as a big success. "We have planned some post-campaign measures to continue with our awareness drive. 'Paree Express' vehicles touched approximately 11,73,947 people in more than 1,300 locations. The campaign involved people from all walks of life, including elected representatives, film and TV personalities, religious leaders, NGOs, school children, frontline functionaries, youth, self-help group members and media," Sharma said. Ministers Prafulla Samal, Ashok Chandra Panda and Sashi Bhusan Behera lauded the efforts of Odisha police. Unicef representative Yasmin Ali Haque said the campaign has built trust between police and communities and most importantly broken the silence and taboo around the issue. Cases of rapes of minors shot in the state in 2017 compared to 2016. Out of total 2,144 rape cases registered in 2016, at least 1,204 cases involved minor girls. In 2017, the total registration of rape complaints climbed to 2,221, which included 1,283 cases involving minors.

Stay updated with all the Latest Bhubaneswar headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.