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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Identification poses major hurdle-Shubhomoy Sikdar

Identification poses major hurdle-Shubhomoy Sikdar

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published Published on Aug 27, 2012   modified Modified on Aug 27, 2012
-The Hindu

Identification of children after tracing them poses a major hurdle for the police and other investigating agencies in reuniting them with their families. This is because many visible features such as height, weight, eye colour and complexion change very rapidly during the growing years. Over a period of time many of these characteristics and even distinguishable features such as birthmark or tattoos, key to identification, change.

There is no provision in the Capital for collecting DNA samples from the family members of missing children who come to report. This may prove to be a more effective method according to experts compared to visible features or even collecting fingerprints for identification.

Delhi has a Missing Persons Squad which functions under the Crime Branch. The MPS works as a connecting link or a coordinating agency between the different police stations located in the 11 police districts of the Capital. Whenever an FIR is lodged regarding a missing person, the details are sent to the MPS. On the other hand, any information regarding any unidentified body or an unconscious person is also conveyed to the squad. Cases where a person is not able to tell his or her correct identity or address are also reported to the MPS.

The job of the MPS is to match the details thus obtained from the different police stations and in case the details of a missing person and the body/unidentified person match, it informs the Station Head Officer of the police station concerned. In cases where the details do not match, the MPS matches the details with the data or pictures available on the Zonal Integrated Police Network or ZIPNet whose one function is to share information on missing children and the children found. The information is uploaded on the Internet and is accessible to all users.

One major hurdle faced by the MPS is that it does not coordinate with investigating agencies in other States and thus misses out on information in case a child lost from Delhi is found there and the relatively smaller size of its staff. With few having access to computing devices and fewer to both computers and Internet, even in the event of a child being found, it becomes difficult to spread the information and detect its identity. One method traditionally adopted by the police and MPS is to show pictures of missing children on television (mainly Doordarshan) and describing other details such as physical attributes, the clothes worn by the child at the time he or she was last seen and the time period since the child has been missing.

This, however, has become obsolete according to some policemen as there are very few cases being reported on television and the fix schedules mean a greater lag between the time the child has gone missing and the time the information is announced.

The Hindu, 27 August, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/article3825948.ece


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