In keeping with the directives of the Supreme Court, Thane District Legal Services Authority (TDLSA) has nominated four persons to monitor the cases of missing children from the district.
TDLSA made the appointments in this regard earlier this week, a TDLSA spokesman said today.
The apex court had given the directions while dealing with a writ petition filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan against Union of India.
The TDLSA will henceforth make use of the services of the para-legal volunteers for the purpose. They will get the status report on the missing persons complaints and submit a report from time-to-time to the authority, which will move it further to the state and national authority, member Trimbak Kochewad said.
The apex court, while dealing with the issue of missing and untraced children, had issued several directions to the police and other agencies, he said.
The court wants immediate and strict compliance to the directions which state, "the para-legal volunteers who have been recruited by the legal services authorities, should be utilised so that there is at least, one para-legal volunteer, in shifts, in the police station to keep a watch over the manner in which the complaints regarding missing children and other offences against children are dealt with."
It also said that the state legal services authority should also form a network of NGOs whose services could be availed at all levels for the purpose of tracing and re-integrating missing children.
It further directs that as part of the standard operating procedure, a protocol should be established by the local police with the High Courts, and also with the state legal services authorities for monitoring the case of a missing child till he is traced.
The state legal services authority has directed all the district authorities to appoint one para-legal volunteer in each of the talukas for keeping a watch over the manner in which the complaints regarding missing children and other offences against children are dealt with.
