A total of 184 cases of rape were reported from Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa and Makawanpur districts of the mid-Tarai region during the last fiscal year, as per the records maintained at the respective District Police Offices. Over a hundred of such cases involved child rape. Out of the five districts, Makawanpur fared worst with the highest number of child rape cases reported from there. In the fiscal year 2013/14, of the total 16 rape incidents reported from the district, 10 were related to minor, according to DSP Dipak Thapa at District Police Office (DPO), Makawanpur. So far, the DPO has arrested 53 persons on the charge of rape in the last three years. In Parsa district, out of the total 20 rape and attempted rape incidents reported during the fiscal year 2014/15, 13 involved underage girls. Similarly, eight out of 13 rape incidents reported during fiscal year 2013/14 were related to young girls, as per the records maintained at DPO, Parsa. The trend shows that cases of child rape are on the rise every year. However, the DPO Parsa has completely failed to take action against the culprits in rape cases. Out of 22 people accused of rape, 20 have managed to evade arrest in the last three years. A total of 25 rape cases were reported in Bara district and 28 in Sarlahi district in the last two and a half years, the records show. Of those sexually abused in Bara, 12 were minor. In Sarlahi, 17 among those who suffered rape were children. In Rautahat, a total of 30 rape cases were reported in fiscal year 2013/14, as per the record of DPO, Rautahat. Seventy-five percent of the rape cases were related to children, Ram Prakash Chaudhary, police Inspector at DPO Rautahat, claimed. Meanwhile, SSP Manoj Neupane of Narayani Zonal Police Office said that police take rape cases seriously and they have been successful in detaining most of the culprits. “Awareness-raising is equally important to curb such crimes,” SSP Neupane said. According to Kiran Thakur, president of Women and Children Service Center Network, Rautahat, ignorance, and illiteracy are key factors in such incidents.