Missing children cases rising in Karnataka, most being traced: Police data

Five kids are either kidnapped or abducted every day in Karnataka where the police claim to have a 90 per cent strike rate in detecting cases of missing children, according to an analysis of government data.

Between 2018 and June 15 this year, Karnataka has had 10,687 cases of children going missing. Of this, the police have traced 9,109 children - that’s roughly nine out of every 10 cases, data tabled by Home Minister G Parameshwara in the ongoing session of the legislature shows.

In this period, the police have not been able to crack 1,578 cases of missing children.

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The number of children going missing, especially girls, is on the rise, which points to a sinister trafficking network.

“If any ‘missing’ case is not traced within 60 days, it is transferred to a special Anti-Human Trafficking Unit for a more effective investigation,” Parameshwara stated. There are 35 Anti-Human Trafficking Units in the state, he added.

Explaining measures taken in cases of missing children, Parameshwara stated that the police issue a Missing Gazette apart from enquiring with relatives and friends. Unidentified bodies are also checked. “Orphanages, ashrams, spiritual places and Bala Mandiras are searched,” he said, adding that even neighbouring districts are combed.

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“A system has been put in place in beat personnel under the jurisdiction of every police station collected information on possible human trafficking to initiate preventive measures,” Parameshwara stated.

Bengaluru contributes highly - almost four out of every 10 cases of missing children are from the city.

Data also shows a spike in the number of missing children after the Covid-19 pandemic struck. “Cases went up due to the post-coronavirus migration,” Nagasimha G Rao, director at Child Rights Trust (CRT), said. “Also, we’ve seen that Covid-19 kept children confined at home, making them frustrated enough to head out on their own.”

Rao said parents are more aware now. “Earlier, after a missing kid was found, parents wouldn’t report back to the police. Now, more parents inform the police that the child has been found,” he said. He added, however, that parents in rural areas are still stigmatic about reporting missing children to the police.

Police data on tracing most of the missing kids is believable, according to Rao whose CRT is the nodal agency for Childline 1098 in Bengaluru. “There are structures in place now. NGOs work closely with the government,” he said.