Andhra Pradesh: 139 'missing' girls are yet to be traced by police, says study
Around 939 girls have gone missing or got kidnapped in 2017, as per mentioned in the records till June 9 and only 800 could have been traced. Rest 139 girls are still missing.
Hyderabad: A study conducted by the police department of Andhra Pradesh revealed shocking details. Around 939 girls have gone missing or got kidnapped in 2017, as per mentioned in the records till June 9. According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, in 2017 the concerned officials in the Police department mentioned that out of the missing girls, 800 have been traced and rescued but the rest 139 girls are yet to be traced.
Reportedly, these figures were collected from January to June 9, 2017 for ‘minor girl missing’ cases and the results were shocking. The study was conducted following a case of the missing girl from Guntur, who was freed from the clutches of a BSF jawan.
Meanwhile, the study revealed that Anantapur district tops the list with 115 cases being reported of which 105 missing girls were traced. Followed by West Godavari and Vijayawada City which reported 89 and 85 cases respectively. Nellore reported the least number of missing cases- 10 cases out of which 9 were traced.
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The high number of missing girls was attributed to poverty, illiteracy, and migration. Due to drought in the state, the families are migrating to Kerala and Bengaluru for employment and are consequently leaving the minor girls with their grandparents.
However, the report mentioned that the tribal minor girls of Kadiri are prone to human trafficking. Meanwhile, in Kalyanadurg-am, child marriages are prevalent, so the minor girls are wilfully fleeing their homes. The report also mentioned that in Telugu states, the number of children who have gone missing in the last one year is 2,283, out of which only 1,371 children have been rescued from kidnap gangs.
According to Police sources, more than 100 gangs are indulged in these activities, with the help of around 5,000 agents residing in cities such as Hyderabad and Vijayawada. The gangs try to woo women by promising to provide them with employment and education in bigger cities and the women would soon be trapped into the racket. Reportedly, some of them have been trapped in overseas prostitution.
In the wake of such cases, the Telangana police have launched an operation named Muskan. In the last three years, 25,834 victims have been rescued in the Operation. And out of them, 12,483 children have been sent back to their respective homes.