Expressing concern over rampant cases of missing children in the State and these children turning delinquent after being exposed to violence at an early age, IG of Police Soumendra Priyadarhi on Friday stressed on proper rehabilitation of the rescued children to arrest the menace of human trafficking.
Inaugurating a workshop on human trafficking here, the senior cop said children exposed to violence are more likely to habit of taking drugs and alcohol and prone to criminal activities.
“Taking use of such situation; organised criminals engage these children in sex trade, hazardous industries and even some unfortunate children land up as bonded labourers in other States,” Priyadarshi, Central Range IG, said.
Scouting all the districts of the State and several States of the country, the Odisha police in association with the Women and Children Development Department of the State rescued over 2,600 missing children last year.
These children had either gone missing or run away from homes. From among these rescued children, a whopping 340 were girls. The rescued children were either restored to their parents or suitably rehabilitated.
The workshop was attended, among others, by Cuttack district Collector NC Mishra, district Rural SP MC Sahu and senior police officers of all the police stations of the district and representatives of NGOs working in the relevant sector.