Aneighbourhood WhatsApp group set up by the Delhi Police, played a crucial role in reuniting a five-year-old boy with his parents within a matter of 20 minutes. In Shahdara district’s Vishwas Nagar area, effective use of social media helped a child who had lost his way home to get back to his family. At a time when crimes against children are rampantly rising in the national Capital, Delhi Police has undertaken multiple initiatives to curb the issue of missing children. Although measures like Operation Milaap, a project of the Delhi Police which helps in reuniting missing children with their families, community policing played a substantial role. Taking the measures of community policing a step forward, Shahdara district has instructed its police officials across all ranks to keep in touch with the locals of their jurisdiction through WhatsApp.
Thousands of children go missing in the national Capital every day. likewise, on Wednesday morning, a five year old boy too his way home and was found crying on the streets in East Delhi.
A senior police officer said, “Five-year-old Subhan was spotted roaming alone in street number 14 in Vishwas Nagar area by a beat staff. Unable to describe where he lives, the child started crying. The beat staff then took him to the Farsh Bazaar Police Station. Here a picture of Subhan was clicked and shared by the Station House Officer and other police personnel with the locals on a WhatsApp group.
Talking about how the child was reunited, Nupur Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) said, “Picture of Subhan was shared by the beat staff on WhatsApp groups. To ensure effective policing among the community, our beat staff has created a WhatsApp group in which members of the Resident Welfare Associations are added. On Wednesday too, it was when one of the beat staff uploaded the picture of the missing child in the WhatsApp group that one Deepankar replied. He said that the boy lives in a neighbouring street.”
The senior police official further said, “Deepankar claimed that Subhan was the son of his neighbour. Swiftly acting on the information, Deepankar brought the child’s father liyaqat to the Farsh Bazaar Police Station. After proper verification of the documents, Subhan was finally handed over to his father.”
Under the initiative launched by the Delhi Police to reunite missing children with the family, Operation Milaap was launched in 2014.