Mumbai: The Mumbai Police have recorded 26,708 cases of missing and kidnapping of girls and women between 2013 and 2017, of which 2,264 cases are yet to be solved, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the Assembly in a written reply on Tuesday.
Of the total cases registered, 5,056 are of girls below 18 years and 21,652 are of those above 18 years. Under five ‘Operation Muskan’ missions held between July 2015 and July 2017, a total of 20,112 missing children were found.
The reply attributed the increase in number of cases to the Supreme Court’s order of May 10, 2013, which said all cases of missing children should be registered as that of kidnapping.
The reply also said as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and the Maharashtra Crime report 2016, the State had registered 8,518 cases of atrocities against children in which the number of victims is 8,908.
“The government has formed a standard operating procedure (SOP) to handle kidnapping cases. Three websites — www.trackthemissingchild.gov.in, www.mumbaipolice.gov.in and www.shodh.gov.in — have been launched to deal with the cases of kidnapping of children,” the reply said.
As per the SOP, all police stations get information of missing children within 24 hours. “A toll-free helpline 1098 has been activated,” it said.
The reply also said on lines of Mumbai, a proposal has been formed to set up a special task force in 24 municipal corporations to stop child-begging. Each police station has one officer as child welfare officer, and special child police teams have been set up in 46 police headquarters.
