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2 cases of women missing with kids send Ludhiana cops into tizzy
Four such cases reported in around a month; initially, cops thought the women had left with their children because of family issues, but the human trafficking wing of the police was roped in after they could not be traced
Four women have gone missing with their kids in the last 35 days, sending cops into a tizzy. While two cases have been cracked, the unresolved cases are being probed on priority as it is suspected that they may have fallen prey to human trafficking.
Initially, the cops thought the women had left with their children because of family issues, but the human trafficking wing of the police was roped in after they could not be traced.
The open cases include that of a 30-year-old woman who had gone missing with her two daughters and son on May 12. The victim, Zeenat, 30, of Shreen Enclave, Jassiyan, had gone to drop her children aged 13, 11 and 9 to a tuition centre but none of them returned.
A case had been registered at the Haibowal police station on the complaint of her husband, who suspected that his family had been kidnapped, after searching for them for three days.Station house officer Neeraj Chaudhary said it was learnt that the there was some problem in the family. However, the woman had not gone to any of her relatives’ place and nobody could account for her whereabouts.
The second case involves a 32-year-old woman Pooja and her seven-year-old son Manish, who had gone missing on June 8 from Machhiwara Road, Kohara. Police suspect that the woman had eloped with one of her tenants.
ASI Dilbagh Singh said, “Though the woman had left home willingly, but we are trying to trace her to make sure she and her child haven fallen afoul to a human trafficking gang.”
27 missing persons cases in 38 days
In a worrisome trend, 27 missing persons cases have been registered in the last 38 days. Around 3,000 people have gone missing in the district in the last 10 years.
A police official, who did not wish to be named, said, “While every missing person case is sensitive, in cases involving women and children there remains a possibility that they could have fallen in the clutches of a human-trafficking gang. These gangs force vulnerable women and kids into the flesh trade or make them work in houses and factories as bonded labour. Thus, the police takes these cases very seriously.”
Commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal said, “We have launched a mobile phone application ‘Gumshuda’ to trace missing children and persons. We have initiated a ‘reunion drive’ in the city to find the missing children.”
Cases cracked
In one of the cases, where a 27-year-old woman and her seven-year-old daughter had disappeared on May 28, the duo were found at the woman’s first husband’s house. She had solemnised her second marriage without legally divorcing her first husband and wanted to reunite with him.
In another case, a 32-year-old woman who had gone missing with her seven-year-old son on May 1 retuned on her own accord. She said she had left home, following some family issues. The FIR had been cancelled.
