Where do missing children disappear?

In the financial year 2007-08, nearly 53% of the children who went missing are still to be returned to their families and loved ones. As many as 2,409 children up to the age of 18 years went missing in Gujarat between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008, out which only 47.11 per cent were found.

This fact was revealed in the annual report tabled by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in the state assembly. According to the report, the maximum number of children went missing from Surat (615), followed by Ahmedabad (473), Rajkot (185), Vadodara (116) and Gandhinagar (109).

Against these figures, the number of children found was 327, 246, 113, 47 and 56, respectively. In the other districts of the state, the number of missing children was lower, but the percentage of those found again was correspondingly even lower. The SHRC has taken a serious view of the issue and suggested steps to the state government for the prevention of related crime, as per the suggestions of Supreme Court in the case of Harilal v/s police commissioner, Delhi.

“The percentage of children missing even after completion of a year is very high. In fact, these figures are based on reports registered with the police and there may be many more missing children,” said Anandi Patel, director, Childline (1098).

She said that the state government, police and society at large should view the matter seriously. “The government needs to strengthen the existing setup for the safety and welfare of children. The police need to control organised gangs that kidnap children and sell them. Also, the role of the parents in the child’s safety is of utmost importance. Many poor parents themselves let their children go missing and do not bother to find them,” Patel said.