Assam: Over 3,700 children went missing in 3 years, says minister Ajanta Neog

More than 3,700 children had gone missing in Assam in the last three years, with over 3,400 of them also rescued by different agencies, Women and Child Development Minister Ajanta Neog said in the state Assembly on Tuesday.

The rescued children are handed back to their families wherever possible, or else they are taken care of by the government, she said.

Replying to a question by Congress MLA Bhaskar Jyoti Baruah, Neog said a total of 3,779 children had been reported missing from their homes from 2021 to 2023. 

Of these, 3,419 children were rescued, she added.

Rescued children who could provide details of their homes were sent back to their families, and those who could not give the details were taken care of at childcare institutions, she said.

The minister also said that 6,054 cases under POCSO Act, 2012, were registered from 2012 to 2023, of which 3,522 cases have been disposed.

She also said that cases of child trafficking are reported from almost all districts of the state, with Kamrup, Udalguri, Sonitpur, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur and Biswanath accounting for most such crimes.