More than half of the children who went missing from Jharkhand since 2014 have been untraceable, a Minister’s reply to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha has revealed.

The figures put forth by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, in reply to the question, highlight the plight of missing children here and the failure of the Government machinery in addressing the menace of child labour, child trafficking, kidnapping and unchecked migration, say child rights activists.

In reply to RS MP Mahesh Poddar’s question in Rajya Sabha, Irani said that on the basis of data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau, more than half of the children that went missing from Jharkhand every year since 2014 could not be traced.  “In 2014, 726 children were missing from Jharkhand out of which 394 were safely recovered. 720 children went missing in 2015, of which 191 were safely returned,” Irani said.

“In 2016, 1008 children were missing, of which 329 were found. In 2017, 1099 went missing from Jharkhand out of which 465 children returned. In 2018, 993 children were reported missing from Jharkhand, out of which 377 were safely returned,” she added.

The complied figures put the total number of children that went missing from Jharkhand to 4546.

Out of these children only 1756 were traced, and 2790 children – much more than half of the total number of missing children – have not been traced.

 Expressing concern over the status quo, Poddar stressed on the need to use latest technology in searching for the missing children.

He also emphasized on the need for adequate arrangements to prevent the disappearance or kidnapping of children.

Taking up the matter through an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Poddar sought information about the initiatives taken by the concerned ministry to locate missing children in the country. Poddar said that despite all efforts, only half of the children who go missing, sometimes one-third of the children, are safe, which is worrying.

Jharkhand has been one of the worst-affected states in India in terms of human trafficking in the past decade. NCRB data says that at least 131 incidents of human trafficking were reported in Jharkhand in 2018 – fourth highest in the country. However, activists claim that several thousand children, especially tribal girls, are trafficked from the state to metro cities every year on the pretext of jobs, marriage and even education.

A majority of these children, activists say, are often subjected to physical and sexual tortures leading to fatal ailments or even suicides. The Crime Investigation Department of Jharkhand police says the number of children who went missing from the state since 2005 stands at 3,838 and 1,281 children remain untraced since the same year.

Many cases of trafficked Jharkhand girls being tortured, raped and brutally beaten up by employers in Delhi have been reported in the past.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren had recently highlighted the matter on microblogging website Twitter and directed officials of all district to identify all the children who were prone to fall prey to human trafficking agents in the State.

He asked officials to take the matter of missing children seriously and impart education and skill development lessons to the children who were at risk. “Bringing an end to the menace of human trafficking is our top priority,” he stated in his Tweet.