IEP Chandigarh, April 10
Haryana Police have achieved success in reuniting 105 missing children and 110 adults with their families during the first week of ongoing ‘Operation Smile’.Sharing the information here today, a Haryana Police spokesperson informed that of the total, 84 missing children were traced and reunited by district police teams and the remaining 21 were reunited by the Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) of State Crime Branch. Similarly, 97 missing adults were traced by district police teams and 13 were traced and reunited by AHTU teams.The police teams have also rescued 80 beggars and 107 bonded labourers who were found begging or doing odd jobs for their livelihood. Our teams have been working relentlessly to bring back smile on the faces of families whose children have gone missing, he added.A month-long special campaign “Operation Smile” is being carried out against human trafficking in the state in the month of April. Under this drive, missing children and adults are traced and reunited with their families. Furthermore, through the campaign, the police aims to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking and encourage people to report any suspicious activity related to human trafficking. Apart from the missing, the state police also rescuing bonded laborers and child beggars.In order to make the drive a success, child welfare officers, anti-human trafficking units and senior officers of the state police posted in all the police stations are personally monitoring the entire operation and daily reports are being taken about the work done by the teamsDescribing human trafficking as a heinous crime, he said that this evil is affecting thousands of people every year in the country. The state has revealed several cases of human trafficking in recent years. Haryana Police is determined to root out this menace at all levels. The month-long campaign against human trafficking is part of efforts to combat this crime. The spokesperson urged the people to immediately report any suspicious activity related to human trafficking to the police on its emergency helpline number 112. The identity of the informer will also be kept confidential. In the drive, those minors will also be rescued who are either working as domestic servants or child labour in small industries or are begging at railway stations and bus stands.O.P. Singh, Addl. DGP directed all Anti Human Trafficking Units working under the State Crime Branch to visit all shelter homes in other states to find out the children living there and belonging to Haryana. There are many children who have wandered to other states and are not able to tell their home address due to the language barrier. Apart from this, the District Superintendents of Police have also instructed all the SHOs and police post in-charges in their respective districts to work relentlessly on the said mission. In addition, establish close coordination with the District Child Welfare Officer’s office so as to get information about the children working in factories and hotels. Find human traffickers, child labourers, and other forms of abusers.According to the DGP Haryana Sh. P.K. Agrawal, the officers of all the districts have been instructed to form special teams. The said team will be headed by a DSP level officer so that the benefits of the special drive reach the masses. Since children are the future of this country and a sensitive section of our society, therefore, it is necessary to take precautions and only then better counseling of children can be done. At present, apart from the districts, our 22 anti-human trafficking units are also working to find clues about the family of missing children/persons.
