Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of missing children in the country yet again in year 2017, contributing about 16 per cent of all children missing nationwide. Shockingly, almost 73 per cent of the children that went missing during the year were females, according to a report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The state, with a high percentage of tribal and dalit population, reported 10,110 missing kids in 2017 while the nationwide figure was 63,349. Of these, 7,409 were females while 2,701 were males.
Along with the children missing from previous years, the total number of children missing in 2017 in MP was 14,158—11.8 per cent of the total 1,19,013 kids missing nationwide. Among those missing in MP, 10,484 (74.1 per cent) were females.
The most worrying thing is that the number of missing children in the state in 2017 showed a considerable rise over previous year when 8,503 kids were reported missing, an analysis of the NCRB report shows.
At the national level, the number of missing children went down slightly as the figure was 63,407 in 2016. Madhya Pradesh's contribution to missing children also went up to 15.9 per cent in 2017 from 13.4 per cent in 2016.
Recovery rate of girls lower than boys
Another factor that points out the gender-sensitivity of the issue is that the recovery rate of missing girls in MP is considerably lower than that of boys. At the national level, however, the recovery rate of girls is slightly higher than that of boys.
In 2017, of the 14,158 missing children in Madhya Pradesh, 8,834 (62.4 per cent) were recovered. However, of the 10,484 missing girls, only 6,423 (61.3 per cent) were recovered, while the recovery rate of boys was 66.4 per cent.
Countrywide, of the 1,19,013 missing kids, 70,440 (59.2 per cent) were recovered. The recovery rate of girls was 60.4 per cent while that of boys was 57 per cent, an in-depth analysis of the NCRB report by NGO Vikas Samvad shows.
Activist Sachin Jain of Vikas Samvad said that the very high percentage of missing girls and their low recovery rate in MP was a big worrying factor as it indicated trafficking with sexual intent. Also the fact that the number of overall missing children has shown a steep rise in the state over previous year suggests that the issue is not being paid attention to.
“MP has a huge tribal and dalit population, where children are vulnerable to trafficking and have the tendency to leave home due to poverty and unfavourable conditions. This is a psycho-social issue that cannot be resolved if looked at as merely a legal issue. Our field experiences suggest that children, who are sent out to work in other districts or state with initial consent of parents, often face economic, physical and sexual violences. Later, they are further trafficked or run away due to exploitation and go permanently missing. Police also do not take these cases seriously as initial consent of parents is involved. So a comprehensive strategy is needed to handle the issue,” Jain said.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bala Bachchan, while speaking to THE WEEK, said that the government had been taking policing issues seriously since coming to power 10 months ago and specific focus would be on such sensitive issues, so that the trend could be curbed.
