Latest news with #OperationMuskaan
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
One child goes missing every two days in Panchkula
Panchkula: In the quiet lanes of Panchkula, a troubling pattern has emerged — one child disappears every two days. Behind this statistic lies a growing crisis that's shaking the foundations of child safety in the district. Last year marked the highest number of missing children in five years, with 180 cases reported. That's a child vanishing every 48 hours. The numbers have steadily climbed from 119 in 2021 to 136 in 2022, and 122 in 2023, culminating in the alarming spike of 2024. According to official data, 2025 recorded 40 cases of missing minors in just the first quarter (up to March 31). In totality, it means about one child went missing every 2.6 days, on average, across the five-year span of this available data. While this may suggest a possible decline, experts caution that it's too early to determine whether this represents a true reversal of the surge witnessed in 2024. Despite the dramatic rise in 2024, recovery efforts kept pace, with 166 children safely recovered by the Panchkula police, the highest in five years. The data was provided under the RTI Act. This figure represents a recovery rate of over 92%, suggesting enhanced coordination between police departments, child protection agencies, and community efforts. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo However, child safety advocates warn that the growing numbers cannot be normalised. "The year-on-year increase, particularly in 2024, signals deeper systemic issues that need to be addressed — from trafficking to family-related disappearances," said one senior child rights official. Dr Sangeeta Jund, a children's activist who was earlier running a childline in the tricity, commented, "There can be several reasons why children go missing. Common causes include fear of failure at school, involvement in some incident there, scolding from parents, or being lured away by external influences, maybe drugs. To address such cases, awareness campaigns should be conducted at the school level, and parents need to be more understanding and mindful in their reactions to their children. " Panchkula deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Sristhi Gupta, while speaking with TOI, reasoned, "Most of the missing cases involving kids are either of elopement or children running away from their houses after being chided by parents. At our end, we have been recovering the kids." The police said they have a special campaign under the name of "Operation Muskaan" to reunite several missing persons with their families.
Hans India
4 days ago
- Hans India
Hyd'bad city police ratchet up anti-human trafficking efforts
Hyderabad: In a major move to enhance its efforts in combating human trafficking and protecting children, the Hyderabad City Police launched the newly constituted Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Juvenile Bureau (JB) Unit, and a first-of-its-kind Victim Assistance Unit (VAU) in Telangana. The Hyderabad city police commissioner CV Anand inaugurated the unit at the Central Crime Station (CCS), Hyderabad. Victim Assistance Unit (VAU) was established in collaboration with Prajwala NGO, which was also launched. This reorganization follows GO 32, Home (Legal) Department, which initially placed the AHTU under the Women Safety Wing, Hyderabad. Subsequently, GO 57, formally constituted these specialized wings with dedicated sanctioned strengths. The AHTU has been formally constituted with a sanctioned strength of 8 personnel including – 1 Inspector, 2 Sub-Inspectors, 2 Head Constables, and 3 Police Constables. The unit is tasked for curbing the trafficking of women and children, including -identifying trafficking hotspots in both physical and online domains, gathering actionable intelligence to facilitate timely rescue operations, monitoring individuals involved in trafficking networks such as pimps, touts, brothel operators, and customers, conducting pre-rescue, rescue, and post-rescue operations, following up on pending trial cases to ensure justice, conducting raids to apprehend traffickers and facilitating the repatriation of Indian victims to their home states and the deportation of foreign nationals. As of 2025, the AHTU has filed 23 cases, 44 victims were rescued, and 71 accused arrested. Additionally, the Juvenile Bureau Team / Special Juvenile Police Unit has been formally constituted with a sanctioned strength of 7 personnel, comprising 1 Inspector, 2 SIs, 2 HCs, and 2 PCs. Based at the Central Crime Station, Hyderabad, the JB Team's primary responsibility is to protect children from atrocities such as child labor, human trafficking, and bonded labor. The JB/SJPU Team works in coordination with the Child Welfare Committee to repatriate missing or traced juveniles to their respective homes throughout India. This year, the JB unit successfully repatriated four children within the state and 7 children to other states. Additionally, under the Operation Smile and Operation Muskaan programmes, 896 children were rescued. The first-of-its-kind Victim Assistance Unit (VAU), center in Telangana plays a crucial role in supporting victims of immoral human trafficking. The VAU aims to help victims recall their exploitation in a trauma-informed manner, prepare them to depose evidence confidently and without fear during court proceedings, facilitate access to government schemes, legal aid, rehabilitation benefits, and psychosocial support and Aid victims in their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
