PIL seeks special police wing to probe 1700 missing children cases

Hyderabad: A public interest litigation has urged the Telangana High Court to direct the government to set up a special police wing to trace missing persons in the state. There were over 2,000 missing persons cases registered in the state between 2015-18 of which 1,350 were girls and 350 boys.

The PIL, filed by advocate Rapolu Bhaskar, says no concrete action is being taken by the police to solve these cases. The principal secretary of the Home department and the director-general of police have been made parties in the PIL. The petitioner has contended that the cases could have been solved if the police were serious about tracing the missing children and adults.

Advocate Bhaskar said girls are being kidnapped and trafficked out of Adilabad district to other states and even abroad for flesh trade. Telangana stood at eighth position in the nation in women trafficking.

"The attitude of the police when parents of the missing girls approach them is atrocious, especially their taunts that she must have eloped with someone and that she would return on her own etc. If only the police seriously investigate these cases, many girls would be saved from being trafficked into brothel houses outside the state. Most of the missing girls belong to SC, ST and BC sections with poor backgrounds," said the petitioner.

The PIL says the missing persons' families usually are not in a position to meet the expenses demanded by the police for investigating these cases. The petitioner has alleged that the same police act swiftly to solve kidnapping cases involving rich families.

As per official records, an average of 174 children go missing every day in the country and 50 percent of them are untraceable.

Citing data and other factors, the PIL sought a direction to the state to constitute a separate wing of police to investigate the missing persons cases expeditiously.