Things were looking grim at Vijay Vihar police station last year. The area in Rohini is made up of resettlement colonies and records at least 200 missing children each year - perhaps the worst statistic in the capital on that count. There were few leads in most cases and the trail had gone cold in several others.
TOI
A team of two sub-inspectors, headed by the SHO, was put in place in June to track the mysterious disappearances and starting December, it began chipping away at the formidable number. In the past four months, sub-inspector Divya and Anuj (they go by their first names) found 95 girls and boys - 75 of whom went missing last year. On Friday, they brought back a girl from Burari six years after she went missing. There were smiles all around as she was embraced by her parents at the police station.
"It feels good when we reunite a family that had lost hope of finding their loved ones. The key is to listen to their grievances," says Anuj.
"Locating a person in these areas is impossible. Even the victim's relatives keep changing their addresses. We have to keep in constant touch," says Divya.
NDTV
Both Divya and Anuj are alumni of Delhi University and have lived in and near Vijay Vihar at some point of time, given them the advantage of familiarity. Both joined the force a year ago after training. Their soft skills and civilian clothes go a long way in winning the confidence of affected families.
"The moment they receive information about a missing child, the team starts tracking the victim's possible whereabouts and family members who were close to him or her," said M N Tiwari, DCP of Rohini.
"Informal interactions with family members and neighbours often help in zeroing in on the probable location where the victim might be staying. The day-to-day working of the teams is monitored by Rohini ACP Umesh Kumar and SHO Abhinendra Jain. We plan to replicate the model in the other police stations in the district as well."
amazonaws
From interviewing and monitoring family members to analysing electronic data and conducting raids in numerous places across India, the team spares no effort in tracking the children.
After the team collects the relevant information, SHO Abhinendra Jain ropes in other cops with relevant experience to develop intelligence about the condition of the victim. The key, says SHO Jain, is to use communication and people skills to gain vital inputs.
"If the child runs away from home, even parents don't open up about incidents in the past unless one takes them into confidence. However, we can convince them once we don't present ourselves as policemen," said Station House Officer Jain.