Over 8 children reported missing in Uttar Pradesh every day

Child rights activists fear they are trafficked for different purposes

LUCKNOW: With the state set to observe World Day against Trafficking in Persons on Monday, an RTI on missing children has revealed that over 3151 children were reported missing in 2017, according to the data of UP state crime record bureau. Child rights activists fear the kids were trafficked for different purposes.

According to the data, the disappearance of 1476 male children and 1675 female children was reported in various police stations in all 75 districts of the state in 2017, said child activist Umesh Kumar Gupta, who filed this RTI to ascertain the actual status of missing children reported in UP. He said the figures suggested that over 8 children were reported missing in the state every day .

Gupta said that these children might have been trafficked also for different purposes.

“In Lucknow, in the same period, 710 children, including 380 males and 330 girls were reported missing, which means two children reported missing in Lucknow every day,” he stated.

Gupta said the list was followed by adjoining district Sitapur where 128 children, including 52 male and 76 female were missing and Allahabad where 106 children, including 48 male and 58 female, wwent missing in 2017. He said the other districts where maximum missing children cases were reported

included 100 (22 male and 78 female) children in Hamirpur, 96 (55 male and 41 female) children in Lakhimpur Kheri, 95 (45 male and 50 female) children in Ghaziabad, 94 (50 male and 44 female) in Kanpur and 91 (49 male and 42 female) in Gautambuddhnagar.

“While the actual figures of missing children in Uttar Pradesh remain high, the rate of registration of FIRs is fairly low. This is despite the Supreme Court ruling that immediate FIRs be lodged in cases of missing children and no laxity should be shown at the police stations,” said Anshumali Sharma, member, child welfare committee and director, Childline Lucknow.

He said the graph of missing children in Uttar Pradesh is rising every year but very few were reunited with their families. “While the police are insensitive to such issues and refuse to lodge the FIR in most cases, the state lacks proper mechanism to facilitate tracing of missing children,” he said .

“There are certain districts in UP from where a large number of children are trafficked for work due to poverty. In such a case, the police need to do a thorough analysis of the figures to mark such areas and increase vigilance,” said another child rights activist Shachi Singh.

She said public awareness programmes to curb trafficking should be redesigned by including training of railway and bus staff, as child were mainly been trafficked through these modes of transport. She said people travelling through these modes should be sensitised to identity and report such incidents.

‘COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACH NEEDED TO FIGHT TRAFFICKING’

Additional director general (ADG) of police, child and women welfare, Kamal Saksena

said human trafficking, especially child trafficking, was a crime that was embedded in society.

He said trafficking was a socio-economical crime and to counter it a community-based approach was needed, as the law enforcement agencies like police alone could not do it .

“It is the need of the hour that all stake holders, including different government agencies, NGOs, child activists and common man should be roped in to counter this evil existing in society,” he said .

“Hundreds of children go missing from their homes every day. Some wander lost, some join business establishments as cheap labour or land in the net of different agencies providing domestic labour service and many fall prey to trafficking gangs,” said the ADG.

He said these organised gangs operated in a well-planned manner with their agents spread across different localities and cities. He said the agents used various tricks to lure kids and later handed them over to different gangs in exchange for money.

Saksena said the trafficking gangs had changed their modus operandi gradually.

They had stopped getting involved into forced kidnapping of kids and taking the risk of being nabbed by police.

Now they duped poor families, promising a better life of their kids and providing financial assistance.

SOME SUPREME COURT GUIDELINES

All cases of missing children in India must be registered as a cognizable offence (as First Information Report) and investigated.

In cases where First Information Reports have not been lodged at all and the child is still missing, an FIR should be lodged within a month.

In all missing cases, there will be a presumption of the crime of kidnapping or trafficking unless proven otherwise from investigation - this is a landmark precedent as for the first time of "presumption of crime" for vulnerable sections of society is recognised.

Each police station should have, at least, one police officer, especially instructed, trained and designated as a juvenile welfare officer to investigate crimes against children.