In Delhi,14 children go missing every day: Report

Kajal is just one among the many thousands of children to go missing from the Capital in the last three years.

According to a report compiled by CRY in association with the Alliance for People’ Rights (APR) on the status of missing children,14 children go missing from Delhi every day. In 2012 alone,4,086 children went missing. Of the 2,887 children ‘reported’ missing,only 832 have been found.

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The statistics were collected through questions filed under the RTI (Right to Information Act) from Delhi’s 12 districts and cites “lack of coordination between various state departments” as a reason for the state of affairs.

It particularly identifies the northeast and outer districts as having the highest number of missing children,with “children of migrants,poor and marginalised in a vulnerable state always”.

At a public hearing,parents like Rajkumar presented their case before the panel consisting of National Commission for Protection of Child rights,State Commission for Protection of Child rights,lawyers,retired police officials and members of civil society.

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The panel not only offered parents advice on individual cases,but also reflected on the trends responsible for the alarmingly large number of missing children in the Capital,and the reasons,challenges and difficulties encountered in search for such children.

“As soon as a child goes missing,all relevant child protection stakeholders should be alerted for fast tracking the case. Inputs of family are paramount in the process for tracing the child and the first few days the most important,” Nina Nayak,member of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights,said. She also stressed on the convergence between all child protection authorities in the state.

“Delhi has a population of 1.63 crore,of which 40 per cent are children. The increasing number of untraceable cases shows that finding these children is not a priority,” says the report. In 2011,5,004 children went missing,and 2,161 had gone missing in 2010 — an average of 14 and 18 children respectively per day.

The idea of “forming a task force comprising all possible stakeholders to protect children” was also agreed upon in theory by the members.

Certain positive developments,however,have taken place as well. “Registration of FIRs has increased from 30 per cent in 2008-09 to 75 per cent in 2011-12. Reporting of cases,as well as the rate of recovery of children has also increased,”  the report states.