T.N. govt. acts firmly on crimes against women and children: Home Secretary

Over the last five years, the State government has taken serious action on crimes against women and children in a fair and impartial manner, said Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Dheeraj Kumar here on Thursday.

He was addressing a joint press conference at the Secretariat in Chennai, along with Director-General of Police/Head of Police Force (in-charge) G. Venkataraman, Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Maheshwar Dayal, and Greater Chennai Police Commissioner A. Arun.

Mr. Kumar said the number of crime cases reported over the last five years had seen a substantial decline across various crime heads, including murder, robbery, and rape.

The number of murder cases reduced from 1,597 in 2021 to 1,461 in 2025, and rape cases from 422 in 2021 to 401 in 2025. However, Mr. Kumar said, a picture contrary to the facts had been portrayed in the last few months.

Mr. Venkataraman said that irrespective of the gravity of crimes, the police department has been encouraging members of the public to report offences. Moreover, the police, along with other departments, have been raising awareness of the POCSO Act in educational institutions, encouraging victims to report sexual offences.

He also said, due to an increase in awareness about the POCSO Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, more people have been coming forward to register complaints, leading to an increase in the number of reported cases. He said the rise in such cases should not be portrayed negatively, as it could discourage people from reporting crimes.

Mr. Dayal said the quality of investigations and emphasis on POCSO cases have led to an increase in conviction rates. Mr. Kumar said there was zero-tolerance towards custodial deaths. The government had taken swift action in the death of Ajith Kumar in the Thirupuvanam case and transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He said strict action would be taken in any custodial incident.

Responding to a question on whether the absence of a permanent Director General of Police (Law and Order) in Tamil Nadu was linked to an increase in crime, Mr. Kumar dismissed it as a wrong correlation. He said the incumbent DGP (Law and Order) was functioning with all the powers vested in the post.