The Indian Express ·
14,500 missing children in Bihar, says Patna High Court after newborn disappears
The court was hearing a plea filed by a man whose newborn child allegedly went missing from a hospital in Nalanda.
The Patna High Court recently criticised the “insensitive approach” of police and district authorities in a case involving the alleged disappearance of a newborn from a hospital in Nalanda, noting that the FIR was allegedly registered after a delay of nearly two months.
The division bench of Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Sunil Dutta Mishra on September 15 observed that the case was a ‘burning example’ of an insensitive approach not only by police officers but also by the District Magistrate, Nalanda, who delayed lodging the FIR.
“Even recently in the one day state level conference of the juvenile justice, the Director General of Police, Bihar went on record saying that in one year there were reports of more than ‘14,500’ missing children. If this is the position then one thing which we all must be unanimous to resolve that the charge of the police stations be given only to sensitive officers in the police force, their attitudinal test is required to be conducted and only after understanding their bent of mind as to what level they are sensitised to act in these matters, they are required to be posted in the police stations,” the order read.
