Family looks for missing child on its own

Six days of daily assurances, futile trips to the local police station and gradually mounting dread about the worst that can befall his 12-year-old nephew, Kishan Lal Chaubey has taken matters into his own hands. Jatin Anand reports.

Six days of daily assurances, futile trips to the local police station and gradually mounting dread about the worst that can befall his 12-year-old nephew, Kishan Lal Chaubey has taken matters into his own hands. Seven children like Chaubey’s nephew have gone missing each day since April 1.

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"My nephew, Tona, went missing while playing outside our house in Wazirpur Industrial Area on Sunday. We lodged a complaint the next day but somehow haven’t been able to trust the police with the investigation. So we decided to help them," said Chaubey.

Armed with two passport-sized photographs of his nephew and an old borrowed loudspeaker, Chaubey and his niece Seema (name changed on request) have been scouting the entire northwest district on a rickshaw for six days.

“We set out around 9am and return home when it’s dark. We visit each market and residential colony, make announcements about our missing child, show people his picture and beg for help. We’re not blaming the police—it just helps us sleep better at night,” said Seema.

Tona, a class 8 student, is one of the 101 children to have gone missing from the Capital since April 1. As per Delhi Police figures, only 14 of these missing children have been found.

“We have registered a case and are doing all we can to locate the child,” said a senior police officer.