95 per cent recovered
Srinagar, Aug 04: Jammu and Kashmir recorded 2,182 cases of kidnapping and abduction of children during 2020–2024, involving 2,254 child victims, of whom 2,143 were recovered alive, according to data furnished by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
As per the data, accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), J&K registered 293 cases in 2020, 478 in 2021, 513 in 2022, 486 in 2023, and 412 in 2024. The number of child victims stood at 302, 493, 534, 502, and 423 respectively, while 286, 426, 542, 481, and 408 child victims were recovered alive during the corresponding years.
In Ladakh, 12 cases of kidnapping and abduction of children were registered during the five-year period. The UT reported no cases in 2020 and 2021, followed by five cases in 2022, four in 2023, and three in 2024. The number of child victims stood at five in 2022, five in 2023, and three in 2024, while three victims were recovered alive in each of the three years.
The data further shows that Jammu and Kashmir reported 32 child trafficking victims under human trafficking during 2020–2024—two each in 2020 and 2021, followed by ten each in 2022 and 2023 and eight in 2024. The same number of victims were shown as rescued in each corresponding year. Ladakh reported zero child trafficking victims and zero rescues throughout the five-year period.
The Ministry said that ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, and the responsibility for maintaining law and order and protecting the life and property of citizens, including children, rests with the respective State Governments and UT Administrations.
It said TrackChild and Khoya-Paya have been integrated with the unified Mission Vatsalya Portal and CCTNS to facilitate matching of FIRs of missing children with the TrackChild database. The Child Helpline 1098 is operational 24/7 and integrated with the Emergency Response Support System-112. The figures above are restricted to Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as reported in the uploaded MHA/Lok Sabha document. (KNO)
