Question : Widened Gap between Missing and Traced Children

(a) whether it is a fact that the gap between missing and traced children has widened in the country during each of the last three years and the current year;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the number of cases of missing children reported across the country and number of such children traced during the said period, State/UT-wise;

(c) whether it is also a fact that the gap between registration of such cases and conviction therein has increased in the country during the said period;

(d) if so, the details thereof, State/ UT-wise along with the conviction rate in such cases; and

(e) the corrective measures taken by the Government to check such cases and to improve the conviction rate therein?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
(SHRI HANSRAJ GANGARAM AHIR)

(a) & (b): As per the latest information published by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), State/UT-wise cases registered, children missing, children traced during 2014-2016 are given in Annexure-I.
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(c) & (d): No such information is available with NCRB.

(e): ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibilities to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens rest with the respective State Governments. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued detailed advisory to the States and UTs in which it was inter-alia stated that in case of complaint with regard to any missing children made in a police station, the same should be reduced into a First Information Report and appropriate steps should be taken to see that follow up investigation is taken up immediately thereafter etc. This advisory is available at www.mha.gov.in.
The Ministry of Women & Child Development in order to provide outreach services to the missing children or needy children, operates Child helpline No. 1098 which is operational 24x7. Apart from this, Railway Childlines at 33 major Railway Stations also provide assistance to any needy child. Further, the Ministry of Women & Child Development has developed a national tracking system for missing and vulnerable children i.e. TrackChild Portal and it has been implemented across the country. The URL of the TrackChild is www.trackthemissingchild.gov.in. The Ministry of Women & Child Development had also launched Khoya-Paya on 2nd June,
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2015 which is an enabling platform, where citizens can report missing children as well as sightings of their whereabouts. Details of children who have been found, can also be reported on this platform. Khoya-Paya has been integrated as a module under the citizen corner in TrackChild.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for tracing missing children have also been circulated to all the States and UTs for their further dissemination to all other stakeholders such as Police, Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) etc. These SOPs lay down the uniform guidelines for expediting the search and rehabilitation of missing children all over the country.

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