E-Paper
2,615 adults went missing in 2019 in Chandigarh, only 18.5% traced
Women outnumbered men, with 1,373 reported missing as against 1,244 males and 528 children (226 boys and 302 girls).
These are grim statistics. Only 18.5% adults out of 2,617 persons who went missing in Chandigarh were traced till the end of 2019, making it the lowest recovery rate among the union territories (UT), reveals data released recently by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Women outnumbered men, with 1,373 reported missing as against 1,244 males and 528 children (226 boys and 302 girls).
Only 16.1% adult males returned home, which is also the lowest recovery rate in the UTs.
On the likely reasons for the disappearances, a police official said many adults left home to “pursue dreams” or because of love affairs.
Unfortunately, elderly persons were abandoned by families not willing to take care of them.
“Adults make a conscious decision to leave home,” feels Rajesh Gill, who teaches at Panjab University’s department of sociology. “The will of the family to bring back the loved one who has gone missing is the driving force. Many senior citizens who go missing are not traced as they are considered a liability.”
Family circumstances play a vital role, says Ranjay Vardhan, who works at the department of sociology, at the Post Graduate Government College for Girls in Sector 42. Many people are reluctant to return to an “unsettled” family. “With the disintegration of the joint family senior citizens are considered a liability and thus no one is even bothered if they do not return,” adds Vardhan.
Only 32.6% missing children traced in 2019
Of the 528 children reported missing, 202 (135 girls and 67 boys) disappeared last year and 326 (159 boys and 167 girls) could not be traced over previous years.
By the end of 2019, only 172 children, including 113 girls and 59 boys, were recovered or traced.
About 356 minors (67 boys and 189 girls) are still missing.
Considering the vulnerability of children to being sexually violated or becoming victims of human trafficking, special programmes such as project muskaan were initiated to trace them.
“Children are considered assets so more effort is put in to trace them,” feels Vardhan.
“When children leave home the family shows strong will to trace them. Police is also forced to act owing to the pressure of the parents, thus more children are traced,” says Gill.
