Bhubaneswar: Odisha recorded thousands of cases of crimes against women and minor girls across districts in 2025, with wide variations in arrests, pending investigations and conviction rates under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Assembly was informed on Monday.
Replying to a question by Bhawanipatna MLA Sagar Charan Das, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi furnished district-wise quarterly data for 2025, detailing FIRs registered, arrests made and pending investigations. The conviction rate in POCSO cases was also shared, while data on IPC/Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita convictions and juvenile offenders is under collection.
Quarterly Crime Trends
As per Annexure-A of the reply, districts such as Jajpur, Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Balasore and Cuttack consistently reported high numbers of FIRs across all four quarters.
- Jajpur recorded 560 FIRs in the first quarter, 673 in the second, 661 in the third and 601 in the fourth quarter.
- Ganjam reported 435 cases in Q1, peaking at 576 in Q2, followed by 554 in Q3 and 405 in Q4.
- Mayurbhanj registered 470 cases in Q1, 549 in Q2, 515 in Q3 and 427 in Q4.
Urban Police Districts (UPDs) also showed significant figures. UPD Bhubaneswar reported 183 FIRs in the first quarter, rising to 337 in the fourth quarter. UPD Cuttack registered 312 FIRs in Q1 and 251 in Q4.
Pending investigations remained substantial in most districts throughout the year. For instance, Jajpur had 499 pending investigations in Q1 and 491 in Q4, while Ganjam had 300 pending cases in Q1 and 189 in Q4.
Arrests
Arrest figures varied across districts and quarters. In Q3, Puri reported 108 arrests, while Bolangir recorded 110 arrests in Q4. Mayurbhanj maintained relatively high arrest numbers, including 105 in Q1 and 107 in Q2.
POCSO Convictions
Annexure-B detailed district-wise conviction rates under the POCSO Act for 2025.
Some districts recorded high conviction rates, albeit with fewer completed trials:
- Bargarh: 68.8% (11 convictions out of 16 completed trials)
- Jajpur: 45.5% (46 out of 101)
- UPD Cuttack: 45.8% (27 out of 59)
- Sundargarh: 32.7% (17 out of 52)
A few districts reported 100% conviction rates, including Puri, Sonepur and Angul, though the number of completed trials in these districts was very low.
On the other hand, several districts reported low conviction rates:
- Kalahandi: 4.1% (6 out of 145)
- Boudh: 6.7% (2 out of 30)
- Bolangir: 7.5% (3 out of 40)
- Rayagada and Bhadrak reported zero convictions despite completed trials.
The Chief Minister informed the House that the district-wise conviction rate under IPC/Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions is under compilation. Data regarding juvenile offenders processed and placed in rehabilitation centres is also being collected.
The figures highlight both the scale of crimes against women and minor girls in the state and the uneven pace of judicial outcomes across districts.
