2 city cops reunite 104 missing kids with their families in 9 months | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Head constables Seema Devi and Suman Hooda pulled off a commendable feat in tracing 104 missing children in the last nine months. They travelled to remote areas in Haryana, Bihar and UP to find the children. Their challenges were many, including the families not having recent photographs of the children, language barriers, unfamiliar locations and reticent locals in the places they visited in other states. Despite such impediments, the duo successfully tracked down the children and reunited them with their families.
The cops are posted with the anti-human trafficking unit in outer north district. Devi told TOI that the rescues took place between March and Nov under Operation Milap. In some of the remote locales, the major challenge was topography and unfamiliarity with the people and the place. They had to ask for assistance from the local police. “There were cases when phone numbers that the children had used to contact people were switched off. In such instances, we took the help of the cyber team to determine the last location of the phone,” she said.
Devi recalled a notable case: “A 13-year-old girl from Bawana went missing. Her youngest brother informed us that she had called him using several phone numbers, claiming she was fine. However, he suspected foul play since she was using different numbers. We investigated the case and tracked her to Jarcha in Noida. There, we found her doing household chores. We rescued her immediately.”
In the new places, the women had to win the trust of the locals, which took time, after which they could conduct door-to-door searches. Devi said that outdated photos made it impossible to identify some kids on many occasions. When the families didn’t have the latest photographs of their kids, the rescued youngsters, most of them aged 4 to 17 years, had to be physically identified by the parents.
Hooda, who joined AHTU in March, said they felt immense pride and relief in being able to reunite children with their families. “We don’t have fixed duty hours. Whenever we receive information about missing kids, we just leave our homes. There are days when I don’t see my kids,” she smiled.
Listing some difficulties, she said that it is a challenge to locate missing children in villages that are off the radar. “We have walked for kilometres because of lack of transportation in such areas. Many people are ready to help us, but there are also those who think assisting police can lead to legal trouble,” said Hooda.
The head constable disclosed how they often obtained crucial clues from beggars and hawkers at railway stations. Showing them photographs of the missing children often elicited information about their sighting. Hooda pointed out how 13- to 17-year-olds were particularly vulnerable to the influence of strangers they met on social media. According to the cops, reasons for children going missing included elopement, drug addiction, lack of parental care, and insufficient education.
Devi has two children of her own, aged 16 and 10. “When I am away for a couple of days, my younger son misses me a lot,” she said. As a mother, she said it was important for parents to talk to kids and be aware of what they were doing.
DCP (outer north) Nidhin Valsan said, “We are extremely proud of the exceptional work done by Seema and Suman in Operation Milap. Their achievement reinforces our resolve to combat child trafficking and guard our community,” he said.