New Delhi: On an average 17 children went missing each day of 2008 in the Capital, says a report submitted by a government-appointed rights body to the Delhi High Court, adding the police fail to "react under the stipulated time period and over time the case becomes difficult to solve".
The court is scheduled to hear the matter on Wednesday.
The report by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) said, "As soon as police come to know about missing children, they should inform the Missing (Persons') Squad, which will then inform the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and within 3-4 hours they should start the initial investigation. But the police have failed to adopt this procedure."
The report by the statutory body states that section 63 of the Juvenile Justice Act makes it mandatory for police to report the case to the special juvenile police, who in turn have to inform the DCPCR, which also has a special missing children cell to look into such cases.
The court had taken suo moto cognizance of the increasing number of missing children and had ordered an inquiry by DCPCR.
According to media reports, 2,210 children went missing from the Capital in 2008.
During an earlier hearing, Delhi Police admitted that they did not register FIRs in all cases and the court expressed its displeasure over this. It said, "If a child does not return, how do the parents know whether the child has gone away on his own or has been kidnapped if you don't conduct investigation?"
The court said the actual figures might be higher "because FIRs were not registered in all cases".
The report also claims that police have an insensitive attitude towards the families of missing children.
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