Six-year-old Chulbul (name changed) was playing near her home on Wednesday evening when her neighbour's 14-year-old son lured her to watch an animated movie on TV with him and assaulted her sexually. The incident occurred under Firozabad North police station in Firozabad district.

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On the evening of December 12, nine-year-old Naina (name changed), who was also playing outside her home in Baldeo area of Mathura district, was allegedly lured by 46-year-old Indrajeet alias 'Disco', her neighbour, with food. She was allegedly raped and strangled by the man so that she would not complain about the crime. The accused threw her body at a spot near a Yamuna expressway service lane.

In a little more than 11 months, eight districts of Agra police zone have reported close to 44 cases of rapes of minors. According to a CAG report tabled in UP assembly in August, in the period between 2010 and 2015, 59% of rape victims in the state were below 18 years of age.

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Out of the total 11,487 cases of rape in Uttar Pradesh, 6,829 victims were minors, with most of them (6,020) between 11 and 18 years of age, while 809 were younger than 11 years. The report stated that in the state, out of 25,589 cases of assault on women with intent to outrage their modesty, 14,040 cases were filed by minor girls alone.

According to National Crime Records Bureau data, in 2015, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of rapes of minors (1,440), followed by Gujarat (1,115), West Bengal (1,106), Karnataka and Tamil Nadu (1,073 each).

In 97% of the cases in UP, the accused was known to the, with 623 of the accused being neighbours, while 310 were other known persons.

Speaking to TOI, Dr Dinesh Singh Rathore, psychologist and medical superintendent of Institute of Mental Health and Hospital of Agra said, "In the majority of rape cases where the survivor is a minor, the accused are close relatives, friends or neighbours. People who suffer poor self-esteem, frustration and have no feelings for others search for weak victims such as minors and target them. These offenders are not normal human beings. They are paedophiles."

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Anita Rana, director of UP child line said, "In times such as today, parents should teach their children to say 'no'. They should make the kids aware of what is good and bad touch. If the child learns these things, if any known person or others approach them in future, the child's 'no' might make the offender think twice about committing the act."

Inspector general of police Navneet Sakera, in-charge and pioneer of UP's women helpline 1090, said, "The majority of sexual offenders are relatives of the victims and the fact is really sickening. I wonder if women and children are not safe at home, then where will they be safe in our society."