The police have tracked down all the six minor girls, who went missing from the Government Children’s Home at Vellimadukunnu here.
They were tracked after a two-day-long intensive search by separate police squads covering various parts of Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Malappuram district based on closed-circuit television camera visuals.
According to the police, two of the missing girls were taken into custody from Bengaluru and Mysuru on Thursday evening. The other four were tracked from Malappuram district on Friday morning. The girls were reportedly on a trip to meet a few secret friends in Bengaluru.
The police also quizzed two youths, who allegedly encouraged the girls to go out of the shelter home on Wednesday. According to police sources, the girls were earlier given accommodation at the government facility as they were involved in previously reported missing cases. On completion of the legal formalities, they would be produced before the Child Welfare Committee, the police said.
Babitha Balraj, member of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said all the six girls would be offered an opportunity to meet their parents and the possibility to go back to their own homes as part of the rehabilitation measures. She said the girls were admitted to the Children’s Home as they were earlier unwilling to go with their parents.
Soon after the missing incident came to light, the Child Rights Commission had ordered an investigation and sought reports from the District Police Chief (Kozhikode city) and the District Child Protection Officer. The field inspection carried out by a panel members had found that the home had poor surveillance measures with limited number of staff.
Further action for improving the safety of the facility would be taken based on the special investigation reports.
