No Trace about Thousands of Missing Kids in Karnataka

Bangalore: Karnataka is rapidly losing out on its little ones and the total number is on the rise. According to official figures, about 3,218 children, who were reported missing between the years 2009-2012, still remains untraced.

Despite there being quite a few initiatives taken by the government, most of these ‘missing cases’ go unreported.  “The number we have on hand is based on the complaints lodged. And, we have been able to trace many children,” says a senior police officer, as reported by Chethan Kumar of Deccan Herald.

The statistics pulled out by the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) speaks about a total of 13,769 children who went missing from January 2009 to December 2012, of which they have successfully traced 10,551. A majority of them were girls, making a total of 7,696 while the rest 6,073 were boys.

In Tamil Nadu, the number of missing children stood at 10,429, of whom, 2,856 remained untraced during 2009-2012. For Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, the same stood at: 17,102 and 5,225, and, 4,484 and 1,034, respectively.

Officials have stated that several methods are being implemented to tackle this situation and attempts are being made to bring down the number of such cases.

“The Centre, in January 2012 has issued a detailed advisory on missing children, which also deals with the steps to be taken for tracing them. The directive throws light on how to use technology (computerization of records) which is to be sent to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, enhance involvement of NGOs and other organizations, have community awareness programs, et al,” an officer said.

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