Mumbai, July 16 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday that ‘Operation Muskan’ and ‘Operation Shodh’ have been launched to search missing children, women and girls in the state, and through these initiatives, a large number of them have been found.

Stating that the state government has taken strict steps in the wake of the increasing incidents of women and girls going missing in the state, Chief Minister Fadnavis noted that as per the orders of the Supreme Court, it is now mandatory to register a case immediately if any person goes missing.

If small children go missing, a case of kidnapping is registered, he said.

He was replying to a query raised by the Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve and others in the State Council.

“Out of the total 5,897 missing cases in Nagpur city, 5,210 persons have been traced, which is more than 90 per cent. This percentage even reaches 96 to 97 per cent. ‘Operation Muskan’ was implemented for children. Under this campaign, 4,193 boys and girls were traced. The Supreme Court has taken note of this and many states have also adopted this scheme. A separate ‘Operation Shodh’ was implemented for women. In one month, 4,960 missing women and 1,364 children were traced. Apart from this, 106 women and 703 children were found who were missing despite no complaint being filed,” he said.

Chief Minister Fadnavis said that orders have been given to set up a ‘Missing Cell’ in every police station, adding that this cell will be led by a woman police officer.

“The Additional Director General rank IPS officers have been appointed for the safety of women. Some women and girls get caught in the trap of human trafficking. Therefore, the government has initiated concrete measures in this regard,” he added.

He said that efforts are being made to expand rehabilitation institutions for missing women and the elderly in terms of public safety.

The aim of the Missing Cell is to follow up on cases of missing persons, he added.

“Also, the one-stop centre “Bharosa” provides counselling, protection and legal aid to women. This centre is used by women who have left their homes due to domestic violence and family disputes. At the school level, awareness is created on sex education, good/bad touch under the ‘Police Kaka-Didi’ initiative. Now, information about ‘missing persons’ will also be included in this,” he said.

–IANS

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