Even as a frantic search for a missing four-year-old boy from Srinagar continues, the J-K Government has directed school authorities across the state to introduce Special Photo Identity Cards (SPIC) for children.

The instructions have been issued by the government after they received a directive from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which had formulated a report recommending the introduction of these special cards as a measure to tackle the cases of missing children.

The directive comes days after four-year-old Mehran went missing from the Habba Kadal area, prompting violent protests in the capital. J-K Police has announced a reward for anyone who gives information about the child.

“In view of the advisory of NHRC, all the Chief Education Officers are hereby required to direct heads of both government and private schools in their respective districts to introduce SPICs of children up to class XII,” said Director School Education, Kashmir Mohammad Rafi. “These identity cards should bear comprehensive information about the individual students, like name, parentage, residential address, date of birth, birth registration number issued by the concerned authority, school and class information.”

Rafi said that all these SPICs should be documented and an appropriate database developed at zonal and district levels. “The information should be shared with local administration to help schools keep a proper watch on children, especially when they become untraceable or drop out of school,” adding that “It is for the first that an exercise like this has been initiated and we hope it will achieve its objective.” No deadline has yet been fixed for putting the SPIC plan into action.