About 66 per cent of the children who go missing in the national capital every year remain lost. The Child Rights and You (CRY) along with Alliance for People's Rights (APR) conducted a study that found that 6,450 children missing in Delhi in 2017, among which 3,915 were girls and 2,535 boys.
The number shows that children go missing at an average rate of 18 per day. This may look like an improvement from the 2015 count of 22, but it actually puts India's capital city among the states that have reportedly very high numbers of missing children.
A study based on Right To Information replies from Delhi Police and National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows in the age group of 12-18 years, more girls are reported missing. In 2017, the count was 3,536 girls against 1,665 boys. "The phenomenon of elopement at this age cannot be ignored" but the authorities don't have any data to prove such a connection, states the report.
"Over the past two years, there have been close to no instance of a missing child in the communities that have adopted the concept of vigilance groups," Reena Banerjee, state convener of APR, told the Times of India.
In 2017, the police traced 4,391 children compared to 5,027 in 2016. However, the study claims that according to an analysis, the children who might have been rescued were not necessarily reported missing in that particular year. Last year, just 8-10 missing children could be found out within a year.
Soha Moitra, regional director (north) of CRY, said that ensuring inter and intra-state coordination in investigation, rescue and rehabilitative mechanism was crucial to tackling the problem. "Investing in adequate resources and recruiting trained personnel at every level are the need of the hour," she said.
She added that strengthening various mechanisms, like police patrolling, face recognition software, hue-and-cry notices, hoardings and banners of missing children and installation of CCTV cameras, could help in increasing the rate of recovery.
