Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Feb 11: Waking up from the deep slumber on the issue of checking child labour and child trafficking, the State Home Department has directed the Police Headquarters to ensure establishment of Juvenile Police Unit in each district of the State and maintenance of database of missing children in each Police Station with immediate effect.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Principal Secretary to Government, Home Department, Suresh Kumar has issued detailed guidelines relating to missing children, children in need of care and protection, juvenile in conflict with law and trafficked child.
These guidelines have been issued in compliance to the various directions passed by the Supreme Court in PIL titled “Bachpan Bachao Andolan Versus Union of India and Others”.
The Home Secretary has directed the Police Headquarters to issue directions to all the Superintendents of Police in each district to establish Special Juvenile Police Unit under the charge of an officer not below the rank of Inspector to be assisted by at least two social workers of whom one shall be a woman and another having experience of working in the field of child welfare.
The District Superintendent of Police shall be the overall incharge of the Special Juvenile Police Unit and monitor its functioning, the order said, adding in every police station an officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector with aptitude, appropriate training and orientation shall be designated as Juvenile Welfare Officer or Child Welfare Officer, who shall deal with juvenile as per the provisions of the J&K Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2013.
Stressing that every complaint/information with regard to missing of a child shall immediately be attended to, Home Secretary said that Special Juvenile Unit at district level should coordinate with all the police stations and child helpline services in order to upgrade police response to crime prevention among the children and function as a watchdog for providing protection against abuse and exploitation of child or juvenile in conflict with law.
“The Special Juvenile Police Unit should take special measures to identify and eliminate organized gangs exploiting or abusing the children”, the order said. The Home Secretary has directed that District Superintendents of Police shall submit monthly statement of missing children indicating the reasons of missing and status of each case to IGP Crime by 5th of every month.
“A detailed report along with the copy of FIR shall be shared mandatorily with the IGP Crime preferably within a period of 24 hours of the receipt of the complaint”, the order said, adding in all pending cases of similar nature, the missing reports shall be converted into formal FIRs and taken up for investigation by the concerned Special Juvenile Police Unit on priority.
Mr Kumar has further directed that a file of missing child be maintained in the office of the IGP Crime and data of missing children alongwith photographs shall be prepared by the State Crime Records Bureau in a digitized form and shared regularly with the National Crime Records Bureau.
The Home Secretary has stressed that every police station shall keep a database with regard to number of FIRs registered in cases of missing children and number of missing children traced/recovered. “Every police station shall upload relevant details on the national portal developed by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development”, the order said.
In order to effectively track and combat this menace, the Home Secretary has stressed that there should be a dedicated team of trained officers and the training should focus on imparting knowledge of the substantial and procedural laws. “Police Department in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development, NIC and BPRD shall conduct training programmes at different levels to impart the necessary skills required in tracking the missing children”, the order said.
“In case of faulty investigation or deviation from the prescribed laws, departmental action shall be initiated against the erring officer(s)”, the Home Secretary said.
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