Better coordination needed to trace missing kids: Experts

The commitment of human and financial resources and better coordination between organisations involved, are necessary to curb the numbers of children who go missing from the national capital each year, experts said Monday.

To highlight the issue, a day-long public hearing and consultation between parents of missing children and relevant stakeholders was organised by child rights NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) and Alliance for People's Rights (APR).

The attempt was to understand why a large -- and rising -- number of children go missing from Delhi, and the challenges and difficulties in tracing them, experts said.

"Adequate resources, human, material and financial, should be invested towards establishing an effective system of tracing missing children," said Soha Moitra, regional director-North, CRY.

"There are no timelines for the police department to trace missing children, which shows the apathy and lack of seriousness in handling these issues," Moitra said.

A report on the status of missing children in Delhi was released during the public hearing, which threw light on the lack of coordination between various departments of the state.

Reacting to the findings, Nina Nayak, member of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), said convergence between all stakeholders was absolutely necessary.

"Inputs of the family are paramount in the process of tracing the child, and it should be done in a professional manner. There should be convergence between all child protection authorities," said Nayak.

"Proactive support from concerned stakeholders is the need of the hour, otherwise questions like: Where did they go? Were they abducted? Were they sold for money? Are they still alive, will remain unanswered," Moitra said.

As part of the hearing, parents of missing children from across Delhi presented their cases before the panel comprising NCPCR, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Integrated Child Protection Scheme, Delhi, and officials from Delhi Police.