Delhi High Court takes up case on its own after MiD DAY report that 17 children vanish daily from Delhi
Delhi High Court takes up case on its own after MiD DAY report that 17 children vanish daily from Delhi
Taking suo motu cognisance of a MiD DAY report on missing children in New Delhi ('Vanished', published on February 26), the Delhi High Court has pulled up the Delhi police for sleeping over rampant child disappearances.
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Home alone: Parents and relatives of some of the missing children held a protest rally in New Delhi last week.u00a0u00a0
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Home alone: Parents and relatives of some of the missing children held a protest rally in New Delhi on Tuesdayu00a0
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"....17 children goes missing on an average daily and not even a single investigation."
-u00a0Delhi High Court |
"Seventeen children go missing daily and not even a single investigation," a bench comprising Chief Justice AP Shah and Justice Sanjiv Khanna observed.
"If the police does not investigate into the disappearance of a child, how would the family of the child know that he is missing or just ran away," the court asked, adding that the actual figures might be higher "because FIR is not registered in all cases".
Citing facts from the
MiD DAY report, the court said, "It's an alarming situation. In the last six months more than 2,000 children went missing." The court also directed the police to submit steps taken to address the issue. It also took note of the fact that in the last six months (between June 1, 2008 to January 12, 2009), 2,210 children were reported missing, according to a report compiled by Reena Banerjee from the Alliance for People's Rights, an organisation formed by various NGOs working for child welfare.
"Such a large number of children going missing is a serious and sensitive issue. I thank the Delhi High Court and
MiD DAY for raising the issue. I hope it will help our children in getting a secure atmosphere to live and grow," said Banerjee.
The issue was raised in the Parliament last month during Zero Hour by BJP MP Prabhat Jha. Apprehending that an organ racket may be working behind the disappearances, Jha had urged the government to take immediate steps in this regard.
The police, however, claimed that in majority of the cases children run away from their homes for various reasons, including eloping, and they cannot be put in the category of missing children. "We are more concerned about those missing children who are under eight years of age and we file FIR only when there is an allegation of kidnapping," counsel for Delhi Police Mukta Gupta, told the court.u00a0 Not satisfied with the response, the court asked the police to file its reply within three weeks.
"The High court observation reflects our concern. Our commission has already sent a notice to the police commissioner to investigate the cases of missing children in Delhi and register a case of kidnapping if they are not found," said Amod Kant, former IPS officer and Chairman of Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
