The incidents of child kidnapping and missing are rising unabated in Odisha. Sexual assault and murder of five years old girl, Pari, of Jadupur of Nayagarh district has evoked State-wide outrage. The helpless parents harassed and let down, in not finding a way to redress their bitter agony moving from police station to civil administration ultimately took self immolation bid before the Assembly after a more than four months to the incident of the abduction of Pari. Thereafter, with pressure building up, the State Government agreed to launch an SIT investigation into the case.
As reported, on an average 13 kids are being kidnapped and abducted daily from the State and as of now 5,503 children have been kidnapped or missing from different parts of the State. Pari represents all the missing children. The kidnappers are no doubt barbarians who are indulged in the ghastly act of cruelty and brutality. The distraught families are in deep distress and there is a pang of tragedy at the loss of their children.
It is an indubitable fact that the State Government is abdicating its responsibility to trace out these thousands of missing children. The prime pursuit of governance is to protect the life and liberty of its citizens since it is a statutory obligation under Article 21 of the Constitution. The child kidnapping is occurring every day and failure of the State Government to rescue them is the brazen shame and disgrace to the present dispensation under Naveen Patnaik. It is evident that child kidnapping happens generally in poor and poverty stricken families. These families do not take adequate care for preserving and protecting their children.
In a poor family, both husband and wife go for daily labour leaving their children at home under care of their old aged relatives who fail to watch carefully. The kidnappers lift the victims by way of an allurement.
In case of missing children most of them avoid registering FIR in the police station because of the fact that police take no action for tracing out their missing children. It is no doubt a dereliction duty which is well manifested. If a kid or child of a Minister or powerful politician or bureaucrat, for instance, was missing or kidnapped, the police personnel including DG instantly would initiate searching operation to trace out the kidnapped.
While constitution guarantees justice is equal for all but in practice the rich, famous and privileged are enjoying it at the cost of the poor. Our democracy is not consummate and mature so long justice and rule of law are equally ensured and enforced in respect of all. In the democratic countries of the world poverty and misery are not insurmountable problems for the Governments. India is the largest democracy on earth where largest number of people are poverty stricken. It is a country where mothers sell their children for survival.
Illiteracy and astounding ignorance are fundamental barriers for the parents to complain instantly against the kidnapping of their children. After kidnapping of their children, the poor parents take help of the brokers to trace out the missing children.
The village brokers instead of helping them register FIR in the police station and loot their money for doing nothing. The helpless parents only narrate tragedy and agony to their friends and relations and in a few instances; some of the well intentioned friends help them register a case in the nearest police station. The reported missing children are 5,503 against whom FIRs have been registered. But unreported cases could be five times more.
Frankly speaking the Government of Odisha is careless and callous for the kidnapping of the children. The police stations all over the State must be firmly directed to instantly take action on the FIRs submitted by aggrieved families.
The police officers must be desist them from lackadaisical attitude in tracing out the kidnapped children and bringing the culprits to book. The parents of missing children should not be disappointed by the police personnel whenever the former desire to know the present position of the case. Moreover it would be pertinent if Sarpanchs are entrusted with the responsibilities for recommending to police under their jurisdiction about the missing children.
Both recommendation by the Sarpanch and FIR by the aggrieved family may strengthen cases of kidnappings. The Government may also ponder over some ways and means utilising the modern technology to trace out the missing children.
(Nilakantheswar Marg, Baramunda, Bhubaneswar)