India reports thousands of cases of rape, murder against children in 2010

India experienced thousands of cases of violence, including rape and murder, against children last year, as 5,484 children were sexually assaulted and 1,408 others killed in different parts of the country, reported local daily The Times of India Monday. The report quoted the latest National Crime Records Bureau data as saying that 10,670 children were also kidnapped or abducted during the year. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, 315 children were killed while 1,182 children were sexually assaulted in the central state Madhya Pradesh during the period - the highest in the two categories of crimes. There were 211 incidents of murder of children in the western state Maharashtra, another 200 such cases in eastern state of Bihar and 124 victims in Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh recorded 747, 451 and 446 cases of sexual assault against children respectively last year. Similarly, 382 and 369 such incidents came to light in the central state Chhattisgarh and western state Rajasthan. In the capital Delhi, 29 children were murdered and 304 others were raped in 2010.