Mumbai : The second edition of the Operation Smile, under which missing and kidnapped children are tracked down and rescued was launched on New Year day by the Thane (rural) police.
Based on Central Government directives, a review of missing children was taken during a pre-launch workshop conducted in Thane, where police personnel in the presence of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and NGO members were instructed about the strategies to be adopted for making the drive a success.
As per statistics obtained from the Thane (rural) police – 2,004 children (772 boys and 1232 girls) were reported missing/ kidnapped in the past five years (from 2001 to 2005) out of which 1,925 children were traced even as 79 (36 boys and 43 girls) continue to remain untraceable. By reuniting 235 lost/ kidnapped children with their families in the first edition of the operation (1 to 31, July, 2014), the Thane (rural) police has found place amongst the top five police forces in the state for their excellent performance in this endeavour. With the Anti-Human Trafficking Wing (AHTW) at the helm of affairs, the operating team under the supervision of SP – Rajesh Pradhan, will comprise 13 dedicated police personnel. Apart from intensified vigilance, the month-long drive envisages checking small children at places including railway stations, bus depots, market places, religious places, juvenile shelter homes and even those found begging to ascertain whether they have drifted away from their kin.” said API Sachin Gavas. Cops will also take help of the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s “missing child tracking portal” which has proved effective in screening and locating missing children.
Known as ”Track Child” the sophisticated website provides a networking to facilitate tracking of a lost child.
