Jharkhand cops trace all missing children

LUDHIANA: Jharkhand police have found all the children who went missing from the illegal shelter home in Inder Nagar, Phullanwal, here.

On August 28, Jharkhand police had arrested Satyandra Prakash Musa, the shelter home owner, for trafficking and conversion of children. The police had since then been looking for 34 children of their state who were living in the home run by Musa. While they could trace and verify 24 kids, 10 others were reported missing. “On September 5, six of the 10 missing children were traced to Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur districts. The remaining four have now been traced to Jharkhand,” said a cop.

Sub-inspector Banarsi Ram, who led the special team of West Singhbhum police to Ludhiana, confirmed that they have found all the 34 children. Four of them, including two girls, were from Khunti and Ranchi and were housed in Bal Chaya Greh in Chaibasa, Jharkhand. They would be handed over to their parents on Saturday, he added.

Jharkhand police said before handing over children to their parents, they would be counselled by the District Child Welfare Committee (DCWC). They said the police have already recorded the statements of the children and their guardians under Section 164 of the CrPC before a court in Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, the District Child Welfare Committee has written to the Ludhiana police commissioner to send a team to escort the four rescued children of Bihar, who are housed in a Doraha shelter home, to their native state. “We have asked for women cops too. We hope to get the team by Saturday,” said DCWC chairman Jatinder Pal Singh. He added that of the four children, two were from Katihar and two from Gaya district.

Cops said of the 47 inmates mentioned in the records of the shelter home, nine were adults, including seven who were mostly preachers from Jharkhand and Bihar. “They had lured children from Jharkhand by telling their parents about better facilities, food and educational infrastructure in the shelter home in Punjab,” said a source who is part of the investigating team.

Jharkhand police officials said they have called the guardians of six children who were traced to Ludhiana and Hoshiapur districts. “Their statements will be recorded at Chaibasa police station. They had shifted to Ludhiana and Hoshiapur districts from Jharkhand a long ago,” said a cop.