New Delhi: In a dismal statistics given by the Delhi police, on an average 12 to 15 children go missing every day in the country's capital and even though the Crime Branch of Delhi Police and Anti Human Trafficking Unit has been set up in each police station, only about 60 to 70 percent of children are found.
According to the data, the maximum number of children are lost from outer Delhi - Aman Vihar, Prem Nagar, Kiradi, Agar Nagar, Ranhaula.
Locals say that on a daily basis at least one child goes missing from these areas.
Saifuddin, a local resident said that often announcements are often done from the mosque regarding the disappearance of the children. He said, sometimes children are found, and when they aren't, the parents go on to complain to the police.
Missing for a year
Nasreen's 10-year-old son, who lived in Indra Enclave went missing in October 2019 when he left home to play. In the afternoon, he left home to play but did not return.
When the parents complained to the police, they searched everywhere and even went to where the boy was last seen. However, the kid wasn't found.
Nasreen said that the police did not show any interest in finding the child. Because of this, she has finally given up.
A new investigating officer has assured them that he will help them find their child, but Nasreen is not hopeful anymore.
Also read: Delhi: 100 missing children traced in 2020
Missing for three years
Raveena Khatoon who lives in Aman Vihar said that her son left home to play on 17 February 2017 but did not return. She searched her son in all the ashrams of Delhi, child improvement homes and all the places where children were kept, but the child was not found anywhere.
The child's father Zafaruddin says that he did not get any special help from the police in finding the child. The policemen used to tell him only the address and he used to go to those places looking for his child. But today, even after more than 3 years nothing has been known about his child.
Commissioner took steps
Central District DCP Sanjay Bhatia said that the police makes every effort to find the missing children.
"We look for missing children with the help of clues present in each case. Delhi Police Commissioner SN Srivastava himself is very serious about finding missing children," Bhatia said.
The Commissioner has also announced an out-of-turn promotion to policemen looking for children. Apart from this, a special anti-human trafficking unit has been made in each police station. They are given the responsibility of only finding the missing children. He hopes that in the coming time, there will be a lot of success in finding children.
In the year 2020, the Crime Branch searched for 1200 children.
