Runaway children on the rise in Surat

Surat, Jan 24 (UNI) As many as 280 children had gone missing from Surat in the year 2006 Police Commissioner R M S Brar said.

Out of the 280 children who had gone missing last year, 213 had returned or were traced, while 67 others are still missing, Mr Brar UNI.

The police commissioner said the figure of 67 could be an instance of over-reporting since many of the parents, whose children had gone missing but subsequently returned, may not have reported the same to the police station concerned.

During the five-year period from January 2001 to December 2005, as many as 1075 children were reported missing from Surat, according to the statistics. However, 877 of them had finally returned home while 198 others are still untraced.

According to city police inspector R L Patel, many children below the age of 15 run away from their homes due to domestic conflicts.

UNI