Parents of missing Noida kids slam police for slow probe

Parents of two children who went missing from in front of their residences, in separate cases, severely criticised the police for alleged slow investigation into the disappearance of their children. The parents of Kashish Rawat (4) who had gone missing from in front of her residence in May this year, and Kartik (9) who has been missing since October 19, alleged that the police are not working in the right direction to find their children.

They made these comments at a press conference organised by Kashish’s parents in the NEA auditorium in Sector 6. The parents of Kartik and of other missing children also attended the conference.

“A missing child from Haridwar, who was recovered from Delhi, had told us that he had seen Kashish at a shelter home in Delhi. We informed the police and rushed to the shelter home, but couldn’t find anything. Kashish’s family had also received ransom calls for Rs. 5 lakh,” said Kusum Bhat, a family friend and a social worker. She said that despite giving the police so many leads, they did not work in that direction.

“Whatever information police have about Kashish has been provided by us. We have not left any stone unturned, but the police are not investigating in the right direction. It’s been three months since we informed them about the statement of the recovered boy who had seen Kashish, but they haven’t investigated that angle,” said Bhat.

She also alleged that the police have not yet traced the person behind the extortion calls and messages to Kashish’s parents.

“If the police fail to trace Kashish, we will meet Union home minister Rajnath Singh and also stage a protest against the UP police,” said Bhat.

Meanwhile, Kartik’s father Praveen Kumar alleged that the investigation into his son’s disappearance had not moved an inch. “The police have done nothing at all. We have been running from pillar to post in search of Kartik,” he said.

The police, however, said separate teams have been formed to investigate the cases of both Kashish and Kartik.

“Our teams are working day and night to trace the missing children,” said Dinesh Yadav, superintendent of police, Noida.