BENGALURU: The High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to come out with a set of procedures to deal with missing persons cases.
Hearing a public interest petition filed by the High Court Legal Services Committee on missing persons, particularly women and children, a division bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy gave the government two weeks to evolve a set of standard procedures and ways to use modern technology in such cases.
The bench observed that if a system is put in place to upload the photograph and other details of missing persons, complainants need not go through cumbersome procedures at police stations.
The court also asked the government to submit the number of missing person cases in the last five years.
Link to Human Trafficking
B V Vidyullatha, representing the petitioner, informed the court that Karnataka stands fourth in the number of missing persons cases in the country, and has become a transit point for human trafficking.
She said the rising rate of missing persons, especially children, is directly proportional to the rise in human trafficking. In spite of there being a number of legislations and guidelines, effective implementation of security measures is wanting. So, it is necessary for the court to intervene by issuing necessary directions to the implementing agencies and the state, Vidyullatha argued.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Karnataka serves as both a source and a destination for human trafficking. In 2014, 412 missing human trafficking cases were registered in the state, compared to 669 in West Bengal, 549 in Tamil Nadu and 541 in Andhra Pradesh. According to the petition, nearly 3,234 women and children were trafficked in the state between 2010 and 2012.