Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij hinted about the possibility of some gang operating in Panipat. (File)
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday said that the cases pertaining to missing children in Panipat district will be referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Vij said this in the state Assembly while replying to a question raised by BJP MLA Parmod Kumar Vij.
The Panipat MLA had sought information from the government on the number of cases of missing children in Panipat district. The MLA also asked government to inform about the steps they were taking to trace the missing children and whether there was any proposal under consideration to constitute a SIT or to refer the cases to the CBI for a thorough investigation.
Apprehending that there is a “possibility that some gang is operating in Panipat”, Vij said, “When I was chairing a meeting of the district public relations and grievances committee in Panipat, that time also this issue was reported to me. If the entire House agrees, I will send the matter to CBI for a thorough investigation”. Later Vij added, “I shall request CBI to investigate this matter”.
The number of missing children in Panipat witnessed a rise from 229 in 2015 to 430 in 2018.
The number came down to 379 in 2019 while this year, till February 25, 2020, 49 children had gone missing from the district.
Out of these 49 children, 16 were traced. Giving year-wise figures, the home minister replied, “In 2015 – 229 children went missing, 205 were traced while 24 are yet missing, in 2016, 250 went missing, 188 were traced while 62 are yet missing, in 2017, 358 went missing, 311 were traced while 47 are yet missing, in 2018, 430 went missing, 311 were traced while 119 were yet missing, in 2019, 379 went missing, 281 were traced while 98 were yet missing”.
At least 21.1 per cent children who went missing in Haryana since 2014 till 2019 are yet to be traced. The staggering figures were revealed by the home minister Tuesday, while replying to a question raised by Ishwar Singh, JJP’s MLA from Guhla, during the Question Hour.