Countless number of children go missing every year. The category of missing children include a number of possible reasons such as abduction or kidnapping of children by family members and by non-family members, run-away children or those forced to run away by family and surrounding circumstances, children who are in a difficult or aggressive environment, trafficked children or lost children. Missing children often end up on the streets in poverty.
A: Abduction is the primary cause of missing children. Besides, children runaway from their homes due to unhealthy environment.
A: To report missing children you can call CHILDLINE on 1098 and/or report to the nearst police station.
1. Lost child found at railway platform
CHILDLINE team received a call from a Railway Police Force (RPF) PSI, who informed them about a missing child and asked for help. On the same day CHILDLINE team reached RPF Valsad, where they were informed that they found the child alone in an Ahmedabad passenger train. On enquiry, the child informed them that he was travelling with his uncle to Ajmer from Surat station, but his uncle had left him in the train. When asked for his Surataddress, he gave an address of Kadodra Char Rasta, Bhavani. CHILDLINE team Valsad immediately informed CHILDLINE team Surat to locate the address given by the child. CHILDLINE team Valsad along with RPF Valsad started the documentationprocess and presented the child to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The child was shifted to Children Home Dharasana with RPF protection on orders of the CWC. CHILDLINE team Valsad also got involved in locating the child’s home. Further coaxing resulted in the child sharing his brother’s contact detail with the superintendent of the Children Home. The CHILDLINE team called the number on the same day that they received it from the superintendent and informed his brother of the situation. They were also able to get their father’s contact number and address. The child’s father was contacted. The father expressed his inability to come to Valsad and requested that the child be handed over to his brother. This information was shared with the CWC. The brother took custody of the child after his documents were verified.
(*Name and details changed to protect the child)
2. Missing girl child handed over to parents in Rakholi
On 17.07.2017 Silvassa CHILDLINE received information about the missing child named Akshara aged 5 years found in Rakholi. CHILDLINE Team immediately went to Rakholi Outpost and found the girl there, after talking to the child it was found that she belongs to Kuranda Village in Maharastra and told her mother’s name. She also told that her uncle bought her to Silvassa and left her alone. The team coordinator then briefed the case to the ICPS team.
After talking to the child CHILDLINE team got detail about her parents, team member called up Kurunda outpost and found out that the missing complaint of the girl name Akshara is registered there. Her mother was contacted and asked to visit Silvassa Police Station. Till then the child was placed at a shelter home in Chikli. On 20.11.2017 mother of the child visited Silvassa Police Station and was presented in front of CWC Chikli with all documents. After all the formalities girl was handed over to her parents. Upon further enquiry, it was found that the girl’s Uncle brought the girl to Silvassa and left her abandoned. The case was registered on his name and after hearing in court and also CHILDLINE statement in court he was addressed 1 year of imprisonment.
