3 yrs on, police SOP to track missing kids

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 27

After three years of the implementation of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) in the state, the police has finally adopted a standard operating procedures (SOPs) for tracking lost children.

Under the new system, the department has asked all its police stations to share information (FIRs) pertaining to any child who was lost or found in their respective jurisdiction. The area Sanhj Kendra will further upload the information on ‘Khoya Paya’ web portal for missing children under the aegis of Ministry of Women and Child development (MW&CD).

DGP Suresh Arora told TNS that the Sanhj Kendras will provide connectivity to all the police stations on a pan India basis. “Anyone can go and access the details of lost and found children at their nearest Sanhj Kendra,” he said.

He also informed that Jalandhar police has also exposed a human trafficking gang who sold seven missing children abroad.

When asked about missing children who may have been already given in interstate or international adoptions due to nonexistent of any SOP in the state, Arora said that if need arises, the department may seek records of adoption cases from various Child Care Institutions (CCIs) operating in the state.

The Ministry had launched the ICPS programme in 2011 but Punjab could only launch it in 2013.

Though the Department of Social Security, Women and Child Development had constituted Child Welfare Committees (CWC) and Juvenile Justice Board (JJBs) in each district, it did not ask the police to formulate an SOP to work in coordination with the respective CWCs.

Until last year, the police was only putting the information pertaining to lost and found children in daily diary reports (DDRs).

However, Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the department to register an FIR in each lost and found child case. Following this, the department registered around 250 FIRs of missing children on a single day in 2015.

In January, The Tribune highlighted some of the procedural lapses adopted by a Jalandhar based CCI where a missing child – Saurav - from Hoshiarpur and a girl –Shubhpreet- were offered for international adoption without any police enquiry. An enquiry conducted by the department of Social Security too accepted the lapses made during the adoption procedure but failed to act against the district Child Welfare Committee.