30 children kidnapped in Maharashtra each day, says Anil Deshmukh

As many as 30 children are kidnapped in Maharashtra every day, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh told the Legislative Council on Thursday (March 5).

Deshmukh made the revelation in a written reply to a question asked by NCP MLC Vikram Kale. “Around 30 children are kidnapped in Maharashtra every day, of which 72 per cent are girls,” the minister said.

Deshmukh also said that the state plans to introduce a special act on the lines of Andhra Pradesh’s Disha Act to expedite trials in cases of violence against children and women.

According to the data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2018, a total of 10,623 children were kidnapped in 2018, with 7,637 of them being female, and 2,986 of them male.

Going by Deshmukh’s statement, if 30 children are being kidnapped in a day, around 10,950 children would have been kidnapped over a year (maybe in 2019). This indicates a potential increase in cases of kidnapping and abduction.

(With inputs from agencies)