More than 73,000 children reported missing in 2019, 71% were girls: NCRB data

As many as 73,138 children were reported to be missing across India in 2019 — or 200 on an average every day — according to the National Crime Records Bureau’s—Crime In India 2019 report. Of those reported missing, 71 percent or 52,049 were girls; of the remaining, 21,074 were boys and 15 were transgenders.

Of the reported missing girls in 2019, 78 percent were in the age-group 15-18 years and 17 percent were aged 6-14 years. Among boys, 52 percent were in the age-group of 15-18 years and 37 percent in 6-14 years.

On November 18, Seema Dhaka, a head constable with the Delhi police, received out-of-turn-promotion for tracing 76 missing children in a span of about three months. Of these, 56 were below the age of 14 years, Moneycontrol reported on November 19.

She is the first woman officer to be given Promotion out-of-turn under the new incentive scheme announced by the CP, Delhi for the recovery of missing children. By her efforts, she has been able to bring joy and happiness to the affected families. Delhi Police is proud of her.

— #DilKiPolice Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) November 18, 2020

Overall, 1,19,617 children were reported missing in 2019, of which 46,479 or 39 percent were untraced/unrecovered from previous years. Positively, a near-equal number of children (71,253) were reported to be traced/recovered (including those from the previous years) in 2019, of which 69 percent were girls and 31 percent boys. While 48,364 children (including those from the previous years) were yet to be recovered/traced ending 2019.

Delhi 4th, Madhya Pradesh tops in reporting most missing children

Madhya Pradesh reported the most --15 percent or 11,022 -- missing children in 2019, followed by West Bengal (8,205), Bihar (7,299), Delhi (6,355) and Maharashtra (4,562). These top five states accounted for half (51 percent) of all the missing children reported across India in 2019.

Likewise, Madhya Pradesh also reported the most (11,256) number of children recovered/traced (including those missing from the previous years) in 2019, followed by West Bengal (10,205) and Delhi (5,880).

The recovery rate — total recovered or traced per total missing — for India was recorded to be 59.6 in 2019, down from 61.5 in the previous year. Kerala reported the highest recovery percentage (94), followed by Arunachal Pradesh (89.1), Sikkim (88.4), Telangana (85.7) and Andhra Pradesh (83.3). While Maharashtra ranked 24th, followed by Delhi (25th). Odisha recorded the lowest recovery rate (27.1), followed by Punjab (27.9).