POCSO Charges Against Senior Editor & 2 Reporters Of Malayalam News Channel; Know The Case

Kochi: A senior editor and two reporters of a leading Malayalam news channel are facing charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The case was filed on Wednesday in connection with the channel’s coverage of the recent state school festival, PTI reported.

The offences are bailable, police confirmed.

In its coverage of the state school festival — which took place during the first week of January — certain statements made by the channel’s reporters regarding one of the contestants seemed to have a ‘double meaning.’

A complaint by the Women and Child Development Office led police to file a case.

An FIR was registered under sections 11 (sexual harassment) and 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) of the POCSO Act against the three journalists, according to an officer from Cantonment police station.

Sexual abuse of children is a greatly concerning issue in Kerala, with 4,196 incidents being reported under POCSO Act, 2012, until November last year, a New Indian Express report said on Wednesday.

A source from the State Crime Records Bureau indicated that the number could exceed 4,500 once the December 2024 data is tabulated.

In 2023, there were 4,641 POCSO cases registered in Kerala, with Thiruvananthapuram district reporting the most number of cases (541), followed by Malappuram (465), Kozhikode (416) and Kollam (397).