20 police teams formed to probe missing children cases in GB Nagar
The Noida Police Commissionerate has formed 20 teams to investigate cases of missing children in the district in coordination with other agencies
The Noida Police Commissionerate has formed 20 teams to investigate cases of missing children in the district in coordination with other agencies.
The teams were formed as part of Operation Smile formed in 2016 to trace missing children. There are 58 pending cases of missing children registered in the district.
“Our teams will contact anti human trafficking units (AHTUs) across the country and also the shelter homes in the state through the social welfare department. Keeping in mind the pandemic, the initial work will be done online and once there are confirmations, we will have the teams travel to meet the children,” said Vrinda Shukla, deputy commissioner of police, women and child safety.
She also said that the Noida AHTU will also interact with children who are lodged in the four registered district shelter homes and help them reach their parents.
In the first week of June, two kids, aged 11 and 16, present in a Noida shelter home were reunited with their families after information came to light through such sessions.
On Tuesday as well, a 16-year-old missing boy from Jammu and Kashmir was handed over to the J&K police in the Dankaur police jurisdiction. An eatery owner had informed police that the boy was looking for work. A class 7 student, the boy had left home a few days back after an argument with his family over his academics, said police.
The operation to help missing children is in coordination with the district administration and the Childline.
According to the childline data since March 2020 there have been over nearly 60 missing children cases of which 34 were of kids who had been found. Off these, 19 are currently under progress. Most of these cases occurred in March 2021 (20) followed by post unlock months last year like September and October (17 and 15, respectively).
“Sometimes, missing children incidents come directly to us and sometimes go to the police. But after due action with the Child Welfare Committe, all of them are converted to missing cases. It is encouraged that even for those cases that are reported to cops directly, information should be shared with us so that we can also use our resources to help these kids,” said Satya Prakash, chief operating officer, FXB India Suraksha, the NGO managing the district Childline.