The Delhi High Court has asked the police for details of the number of children reported missing in the past four years and the present status of these cases in order to ascertain how many of them have been recovered.
Hearing two writ petitions with regard to two missing minor children, one of whom is yet to be traced, a Division Bench also suggested measures like involvement of beat constables and non-government organisations to find out if such children become victims of human trafficking, flesh trade or begging rackets.
The Bench, comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice R.K. Gauba, observed that children being reported missing was a serious issue. It directed the Delhi Police to submit a fresh report including statistics of missing children and those recovered during in the last four years.
The Court also asked the police if they had any software to match the description or photos of missing children, with the pictures on the records of other agencies. It suggested that the beat constables and NGOs could be involved in finding out if the children rescued from crime syndicates were those who had gone missing.
The Court had earlier directed the Delhi government to prepare a booklet containing all directives on the subject and supply it to all its departments. A booklet was submitted to the Bench during the hearing.
