A sharp political confrontation erupted during Question Hour on the third day of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly's monsoon session on 15 July, as Congress MLA Sangeeta Sinha challenged the state government's claim that crimes against women and children have declined under the current administration. Home Minister Vijay Sharma defended the government's record, but district-level data presented by Sinha pointed to a more troubling picture.

Government's Claim: A Decline in Numbers

Home Minister Vijay Sharma told the House that 18,323 cases of rape, molestation, assault, and murder were registered during the previous government's two-and-a-half-year tenure, compared to approximately 16,000 cases in the same duration under the current administration. He cited this as evidence of an improving law-and-order situation for women and children in Chhattisgarh.

Sharma also outlined a range of protective measures in place: 13 women-exclusive police stations are operational across the state, Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPU) have been established in every district, and 124 police stations have been made child-friendly. The government is additionally running 'Good Touch-Bad Touch' awareness programmes in schools and colleges, alongside the 'Abhivyakti' app, Dial-112, and increased patrolling.

Congress Pushes Back With District-Level Data

Sangeeta Sinha intervened with year-wise and district-wise figures that appeared to contradict the minister's aggregate claim. On molestation alone, she cited 3,096 cases in 2024, 3,070 in 2025, and 1,550 in the first five months of 2026 — a trajectory suggesting the annual figure for 2026 could match or exceed prior years.

The data on child abduction was particularly stark. Sinha described the trend as a 'very serious matter,' presenting figures of 2,300 cases in 2023, 2,961 in 2024, 3,040 in 2025, and 1,746 cases in just the first five months of 2026. At that pace, she warned, the annual total could surpass 3,500 cases by year-end — a record high.

Minister Concedes on Sexual Offences

In a notable admission, Home Minister Sharma acknowledged that despite the government's intervention measures, there has not been a visible decline in sexual offences. This concession, made on the floor of the House, stands in some tension with the broader claim of overall improvement — and is likely to fuel further scrutiny of how the government is categorising and aggregating its crime data.

Custodial Deaths and Kidnapping Surge

The session also surfaced alarming figures on custodial deaths. Sharma informed the House that 375 deaths occurred in Chhattisgarh jails between 2021 and 25 June 2026. Magisterial inquiries were ordered in 373 of those cases, of which 311 reports have been received and 62 remain pending.

On kidnapping, a sharp rise was recorded between July 2025 and June 2026, with Raipur seeing the largest increase — from 524 to 634 cases. Murder and robbery trends showed mixed patterns across major districts, according to data placed before the House.

What Comes Next

The floor debate has put the Chhattisgarh government under pressure to reconcile its aggregate crime statistics with the granular, year-on-year figures presented by the Opposition. With child abduction numbers on an upward curve and sexual offences showing no visible decline by the minister's own admission, the monsoon session is expected to see continued scrutiny of the state's law-and-order record in the sessions ahead.