These Stats On Children Going Missing In India Shows Just Why You Need To Be Really Concerned

India is increasingly becoming a country dangerous for its children as the number of those missing is on the rise.

According to the data of the home ministry, the figures have gone up by an alarming 84 per cent in the last three years.

Hindustan Times/ Representational Image

The total number of untraced children in 2013 was 34,244 - the figure jumped up to 62,988 in 2015. In other words almost two in every three children who went missing still remains untraceable.?

Delhi and Maharashtra remain the top two states with the maximum number of untraced children.?

According to an RTI reply?by Delhi Police, 7928 children went missing from Delhi in 2015 alone. That is nearly 22 children every single day in the national capital. As of 2015, in Maharashtra 9,414 children have remained untraceable.

The Guardian/ Representational Image

Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana also registered an increasing percentage of untraced children. Madhya Pradesh and Haryana have witnessed around 60 percent growth in the number of untraced children in the last three years.

In Madhya Pradesh, at least 15 girls go missing every day, according to state crime records bureau (SCRB), 2015. Majority girls are in the age-group of 14-18.?

Kailash Satyarthi

At least 8059 children went missing last year of which 5,740 were girls and 2,319 boys - this means 6 boys on an average go missing every day in Madhya Pradesh. Number-crunching of SCRB data suggests 22 children go missing each day in state, a jump from 19 in 2014.

The data from West Bengal is even more alarming. The state alone accounts for 42 per cent of trafficking of minor girls in India. 14 per cent of girl missing cases are reported from Haryana, followed by Assam, Bihar and Odisha.

Indian Express/ Representational Image

Combined, these five states account for 97 per cent of the girl child trafficking in India, according to the analysis by Child Rights and You (CRY). Prashant Dubey, a child's rights activist says:?

"It's a social malaise. There are also runaway children, who escape violence and poverty at home. Others are kidnapped and smuggled out. If not tracked on time, kids are forced into prostitution, forced labour, begging and organ trade. Children from tribal areas are vulnerable as they are often lured to bigger cities on promise of job opportunities."

Most missing children who have been rescued are from Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan and Haryana, where they are pushed into domestic work or the flesh trade. Some are smuggled to Rajasthan, Haryana and some districts of Madhya Pradesh, which have a skewed sex ratio and forcibly married off, activists said.