Mumbai Metro Joins Arpan’s Child Safety Week Campaign Against Child Sexual Abuse

Arpan, one of India’s leading organisations working on the prevention and intervention of child sexual abuse (CSA), has collaborated  with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Ltd (MMMOCL) for the launch of its eighth edition of its annual public awareness campaign, Child Safety Week (CSW) 2026.

With #RukJaoVarnaPOCSOPakadLega, Arpan’s message to offenders is clear: sexually abusing a child is a punishable offense under the  Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), stop or the law will catch you. This year, the campaign clearly spells out the behaviours that count as abuse and are punishable under the Act. When people know what abuse looks like, they can stay alert, speak up and report it. 

Building on last two year’s association, Arpan’s collaboration with MMRDA and MMMOCL takes its child safety messaging across Mumbai’s public transport network. As part of this collaboration, a Mumbai Metro train running on Lines 2A and 7 were flagged off with #RukJaoVarnaPOCSOPakadLega creatives across all six of its coaches. Kanhuraj Bagate (IAS), Managing Director, MMMOCL, inaugurated the train as Chief Guest, alongside Pooja Taparia, Founder and CEO, Arpan. The dignitaries and the Arpan team then rode the metro from Gundavali to Aarey station and viewed the campaign creatives on board.

The creatives highlight six acts that are punishable offences under the POCSO Act: looking at a child inappropriately, touching a child inappropriately, showing a child inappropriate content, clicking inappropriate photos of a child, asking a child for inappropriate photos or videos, and downloading, saving or sharing inappropriate photos or videos of children.

Kanhuraj Bagate, IAS. Managing Director, Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited (MMMOCL), shared, “Children’s safety is a shared responsibility, whether at home, in school, in our neighbourhoods or on public transport. MMRDA’s association with Arpan’s Child Safety Week reflects our commitment to creating spaces where every child feels safe, heard and supported. Through the #RukJaoVarnaPOCSOPakadLega campaign, we are sending a clear warning to anyone who might think of harming a child: stop, or the law will catch you. We urge every citizen to understand the POCSO Act and to act early to prevent abuse before it happens.” 

Pooja Taparia, Founder and CEO, Arpan, shared, “Every day, lakhs of people across Mumbai travel by Metro. When a commuter reads, in the middle of an ordinary journey, that looking at a child inappropriately or sharing sexual images is a crime under the POCSO Act, the law stops being something distant and becomes something they can’t ignore. For offenders, the message is just as hard to miss: stop, or the law will catch you. We are grateful to MMRDA, MMMOCL and Vidya Balan for helping us place this warning where people can’t scroll past it. Protecting children has to be part of everyday life, and public spaces are where that begins.”

How you can contribute:

Silence has always worked in favour of those who cause harm, and the longer it lasts, the bolder they grow..  Break the silence and join Child Safety Week by sharing the six messages with your family, your child’s school, your workplace and your community groups, and by making a video or sharing Arpan’s campaign materials on Instagram: @arpan_csa, FaceBook: Arpan, Linkedin: ARPAN, X: @Arpan_CSA, Youtube: @arpancsa.Speak up when something around a child feels wrong, even if the person involved is someone you know. Stay alert online too, where offenders increasingly seek out children. . Abusers have long relied on adults looking away. This Child Safety Week, all eyes are on them.