Missing Children of India

Book excerpt: various causes of children going missing include forced labour, commercial sexual exploitation, begging, organ trade, medical testing etc. Abandonment, animosity, natural calamities, etc., also result in a child going missing. Nevertheless, a child missing is not considered in the legal system as a heinous crime resulting in large number of cases either not being registered or with little investigation and follow up. The study says that the possible reasons that contribute to the lack-lustre law enforcement include gaps in policy, knowledge, resources, institutional capacity and commitment / political will. Based on the gaps, the study recommends a highly skilled investigation and rapid response agency/task force on missing children, formation of National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and establishment of a centralized data bank. The study has also recommended development of a Standard Operating Procedure for investigation and proposed a definition of Missing Children and policy guidelines on trafficking and missing children.