'Pornography is being served on internet': Madhya Pradesh top cop says police alone can't stop rape cases

A top police official in Madhya Pradesh, when asked about the reason behind the uptick in rape cases in India, blamed the "easy availability of obscene content, alcohol," among other factors, adding that “preventing rape is not something the police can do alone.” Kailash Makwana, the Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), was responding to the media at a divisional review meeting in Ujjain.

He stated that the increasing accessibility of obscene content online is significantly influencing young minds and is one of the key factors contributing to the rise in rape cases.

"The way pornography is being served on the internet, the minds of children are getting distorted." "There are many reasons behind the increasing incidents of rape. I think it includes internet, mobile phones, availability of pornographic material and alcohol. Today, through mobile phones, someone is connecting from somewhere to someone else. There are many such reasons for the decline of morality in society. It is not possible for police alone to deal with it," he told news agency PTI.

He further noted a steady erosion of moral values, even within families, stressing that the times when children respected and obeyed their parents and teachers are a thing of the past.

“We’re seeing that even within homes, people aren’t keeping watch over each other. Earlier, children used to listen to their teachers and parents. There was a sense of shame or respect, but many of those boundaries have now disappeared," he said.

Incidentally, in the last session of the MP assembly, the state government had informed that 20 cases of rape were registered daily in 2024. As per statistics made available by the state home department, 6134 rape cases were registered in 2020, which touched 7294 in 2024, a rise of 19 per cent, news agency PTI reported.