In a novel social initiative, Delhi Police has launched Operation Milap, a scheme aimed at uniting missing children with their parents and has already restored two children who were staying in a children’s home with their respective families in Delhi and Rajasthan.
The role of the shelter homes will also be examined as they did not take any step in terms of reuniting the children with their parents. The police have now launched a crackdown and will examine all the shelter homes in the Capital. In all, there are 98 Government-aided shelter homes apart from the ones running illegally or privately.
“The drive has been launched by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Crime Branch. It aims to check all the children’s homes in the national Capital for matching their records with the available data of missing/kidnapped children and has been named Operation Milap. Several teams have been constituted for uniting such children staying in children’s homes. A team led by DCP Dinesh Kumar Gupta checked the Bal Adhikar Sashaktikaran Kendra children’s home at Prahladpur Bangar and the record of children as well as the children at the shelter home was examined in depth,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav.
During this special drive, Crime Branch officials will check each and every child in the children’s homes and make all out efforts to get any clue about their parents/home so that they can be restored properly. Also, local police is being asked to screen and document all the children residing in the shelter homes, railway platforms, bus stands, roads, religious places. Their photographs will be taken by the concerned police officials and documentation will be undertaken to link them properly.
During its first effort on Tuesday, the Crime Branch team checked Bal Adhikar Sashaktikaran Kendra, the children’s home at Prahladpur Bangar, Delhi. The team checked the records of children and also spoke to the children at length. “During such conversation, a child aged 13 years appeared nervous and on sustained compassionate persuasion, he revealed his mother’s name and her mobile phone number. When contacted, the woman identified her son on the basis of description and reached AHTU office from Bhiwadi, Rajasthan along with her brother,” added Yadav.
They were taken to the children’s home where they identified the boy as her son. On further enquiry, it was revealed that an FIR was registered at Bhiwadi Phase III police station, Rajasthan in this regard. His mother told police that the child was rebuked by his maternal aunt for his studies on August 31 and he left home thereafter. He is a student of VI. The child revealed that he had reached Gurgaon by bus and thereafter at ISBT, Kashmere Gate. The child was admitted to the children’s home on December 8.
Another child aged 10 years, staying in the same shelter home, was also reluctant to talk and was trying to hide himself. He was taken into confidence by the police team following which he revealed the name of his father and his residential colony as Pratap Nagar, Delhi. On the basis of this information, the team immediately rushed to the locality and traced his father at the address provided by him. An FIR was also found registered at Harsh Vihar police station in this regard.
“The father of the child said that on November 12, his son Kaif had gone out to play but he never returned. The child was admitted to the children’s home the same say. Kaif disclosed that he left home as he wanted to see the Red Fort. He is studying at a madrasa in Wazirabad,” added Yadav.