Increasing incidents of Child Abduction

September 1, 2026

-Abhishek Vij
The rise of human trafficking as a business is becoming a major problem for the country. The horrific problem of kidnapping of innocent children has caused great concern for most parents. The failure to recover missing children indicates the emergence of a market in which human beings are being sold. The number of kidnappings of children, more than that of women, is a matter of grave concern. While anti-human trafficking units have been established, in areas like Punjab and Chandigarh, these structures remain woefully weak.

Investigations into child abduction cases are so slow that parents have no choice but to lament the plight of their missing children. The recovery rate of missing children is abysmally low. The statistics are alarming. In the last five years, 15,913 children have gone missing or been kidnapped in a state like Punjab. The number 112 has been issued to report missing children to the police, or information can be provided to the Child Helpline on 1098. Additionally, there is a provision for uploading photos on the Trap Child portal.

In case of a missing child, the police are required to immediately register an FIR under kidnapping charges. These are some of the legal provisions implemented. Preventive measures are not effective to the scale of the tragedy of child abduction. Of the 15,913 abducted children, only 4,692 have been recovered by 2024. Only 429 accused have been arrested in five years. In such a situation, the suffering of parents whose children have not been recovered or remain untraceable is incalculable. These figures were recently presented in the Rajya Sabha.

Their recovery rate is less than 30 percent out of 15,913 children. Don’t think this pain is limited to Punjab; children have also been abducted from Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, and Himachal Pradesh. During this same period, 70,124 children went missing in Himachal Pradesh, but the number of recoveries was higher, with 47,912 children found.

However, 28,212 children remain missing. During this same period, 2,604 children went missing from Chandigarh, but only 964 were recovered. The number of criminals arrested in Punjab over these five years is 84, 33, 51, 159, and 82, respectively. They are all awaiting punishment, and the deadlines are being postponed.

The situation is not as simple as it appears from the outside. This has become a full-fledged business, and an aggressive policy must be formulated to stop it. It should not be run with a “let it be as it is” approach. Furthermore, what is being overlooked is the women and girls from poor families who are lured and abducted or forced from their homes. They are sold to wealthy individuals, lured by grand dreams of going abroad or to other states. Later, they end up working as bonded laborers abroad.

Although the government recently refuted the US allegations of bonded labor against India, stating that no such bonded labor is being practiced in the country, the reality is that no consideration has been given to the plight of these abducted children, who are facing the gruesome reality of forced labor. Instead of a cursory glance at the problem, it is time to take strong action.