Last week panic gripped among Navi Mumbai citizens after a report of at least eight missing children in a single day went viral. However, the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) of Navi Mumbai police traced most of the children and most of them were found to have run away due to various reasons including love affairs. As per the data shared by Navi Mumbai police, most of the children who went missing in the last three years were between 12 to 17 years old and majority of them returned home safely. As per the Supreme Court guidelines, the police have to register a kidnapping case if the missing person is under 18 years old.
A total of 1174 minors, comprising both boys and girls, went missing from January 2019 to December 2022. However, in the 11 months of 2023, a total of 371 children went missing, which is around 31 percent of the last three years of total kidnapping cases of minors. Police say that the number dipped during two years of Covid outbreak and that’s why the number of 2023 is showing high. It means that from 2019 to November, 2023, a total 1545 minors were missing. Shockingly, 1137 of these victims were girls. However, 1087 were traced. According to police, of the total 1545 missing or kidnapped children, 1470 children were traced and reunited with family. Since 2019, around 95% cases of kidnapping of minors have been solved. However, there were cases that could not be solved and many involved missing girls. A large number of missing or kidnapping cases of girls were victims of love affairs. “A large number of them are running away due to family reasons,” said an official from AHTC. He added that parents need to talk to their children and keep a watch on their friend circle. After tracing seven of the eight missing children in the first week of December, Amit Kale, DCP (Crime) appealed to parents to talk to their children and not put pressure on academics.