The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu government over increasing cases of children going missing from different parts of the state.
The Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that in Tamil Nadu, the number of missing children is on a rise. More than two children go missing every day in the State and as such, during the first three months of the current year, 271 children have gone missing from different parts of the State, said an NHRC statement.
Observing that "can there be a bigger pain for the parents and the little children than losing each other", the Commission said that the contents of the media report, if true, raise serious issue of violation of human rights of the victim children and their parents.
Accordingly, notices have been issued to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Government of Tamil Nadu calling for detailed reports in the matter. They have been given four weeks to respond.
According to the media report, carried on March 23, the number of missing children cases in Tamil Nadu is on increase from 441 cases in 2014 to 656 children in 2015. In Chennai itself, 114 children went missing in 2014 and this number rose to 149 (including 71 girl children) in 2015. Reportedly, 58 children have gone missing from Chennai this year, so far.
Although, begging is banned in Chennai seldom, any action is initiated against the practice. Baggers are often found accompanied by toddlers and infants. As of now, reportedly, there is no system in place to check the origin of these people and find out if the children accompanying them are legitimately related to them, it added.