Police to pursue operation to trace missing children

The police is set to pursue 'Operation Muskan' between July 1 and July 31 which has traced 374 missing children under the age of 18 years and restored them to their parents or kin so far, it was officially announced here today.
"The Home Secretary has in a circular directing the police department across the state to launch 'Operation Muskan' commencing from July 1 and we too have decided to implement the programme accordingly. We plan to involve cops, NGOs and the media in the one-month programme," Yavatmal Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Kumar Singh said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Sharing details of the list of missing children in the district, the police official said that that there were 542 cases of missing children in the district in the period bwteeen 2010 and 2015, out of which 292 are girls and 250 are boys.
"We have traced out 286 girls and 240 boys so far and the remaining 16 cases are still pending," Singh said, adding that those childrean too would be traced at the earliest.
"During the programme, cops and other representatives would visit shelter homes, bus and railway platforms, religious places, roads and footpaths as well as other areas to find out if there is any child is found from among the list of missing children," Singh said.

Additional Superintendent of K A Dhole, who was also present at the press conference, informed that Yavatmal is the headquarters of Anti Human Trafficking Unit headed by him which has been entrusted with investigation of missing children in five districts, namely Yavatmal, Amravati, Akola, Buldhana and Washim under the Amravati Range.

The unit would investigate cases pending for more than four months in the respective districts.
"We have 18 such cases at hand now and investigation is in progress," Dhole said.
When asked if cops have details of already traced children who were either murdered, sexually exploited or kept as bonded labourers, he said that he did not have accurate information about it.

However, he assured that he would collect it and brief reporters.