NEW DELHI: Over 250 children, including 190 from Uttar Pradesh, were kidnapped during the Covid-19 lockdown period in the country, the centre told the Rajya Sabha Wednesday.
In 2022 till the end of June, 78 children were kidnapped, of which 64 were from Uttar Pradesh alone, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Zubin Irani told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
The ministry, however, said that no cases of children forced to leave their homes for illegal child labour, smuggling and forced marriage during Covid lockdown have come to the notice.
After UP, Bihar reported 13 child kidnappings during the Covid lockdown period. In 2022, 7 children were kidnapped from the state.
In Haryana, 16 children were kidnapped during the Covid lockdown. It was followed by Rajasthan (7). Delhi, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh reported five cases, while Maharashtra and West Bengal both reported three kidnapping cases respectively during the lockdown due to Covid.
Tamil Nadu reported two kidnapping cases during the lockdown, while Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand reported one case each.
In 2022, two children were kidnapped from Rajasthan and Delhi respectively, while one case each from Madhya Pradesh and Haryana were reported.
The ministry is supporting a 24-hour childline service for children in crisis, which links them to emergency or long-term care and rehabilitation service. At present, childline is operational in 603 districts and 138 railway stations in the country.
Further, a number of projects and initiatives have also been undertaken under Nirbhaya Fund for strengthening the surveillance system for prevention of crimes against women and children, the minister said.
330 stations have been covered under the project of 'Integrated Emergency Response Management System (IERMS) for installing CCTVs and monitoring rooms at railway stations.