26,000 cases closed, 2,300 children rescued in 6 months: NCPCR at Itanagar meet

Itanagar, Nov 20: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has underscored the urgent need to strengthen child protection systems, revealing that in the past six months alone it disposed of nearly 26,000 cases and rescued over 2,300 children across the country.

Speaking at a state-level conference in Itanagar on gaps and challenges in implementing key child rights legislations, Paresh Shah, Division Head for Juvenile Justice, POCSO and Special Cells at NCPCR, said that child rights violations in the region must not be viewed as data points, as “each case represents a story of a child and a family.”

He stressed that the actions of officials today will shape not only children’s lives but the future of the nation.

Shah emphasised that both the Centre and the Arunachal Pradesh government are committed to safeguarding every child.

However, he cautioned that strong laws on paper are insufficient without effective monitoring, awareness generation and coordinated enforcement on the ground.

He highlighted that more than 1,000 children had been repatriated to their home districts in the last six months, aided by new technology-driven systems rolled out at NCPCR.

Looking ahead, Shah said the Commission is focusing on mental health support for children, expanding the use of AI to combat Child Sexual Abuse Material, and developing fresh strategies to tackle grassroots-level challenges in child protection.

He added that the responsibility for realising child rights commitments rests on all stakeholders, including school authorities, district officials, police and civil society groups.

Arunachal Pradesh SCPCR chairperson Ratan Anya presented a detailed situational analysis of the state’s child protection mechanisms, flagging gaps in safety monitoring and reporting.

Recent incidents in Arunachal Pradesh, she noted, have exposed “critical weaknesses” in existing systems despite strong legal frameworks.

She also pointed to difficulties in probing POCSO cases, low awareness among stakeholders, inadequate systems to curb child trafficking and child labour, poor enforcement of anti-tobacco laws under COTPA, and insufficient monitoring of residential schools.

Anya urged NCPCR to intensify awareness campaigns across the Northeast and called on the Education Department to initiate sustained audits of schools to ensure compliance.

State Education Commissioner Amzad Tatak echoed the urgency, urging district officials to take school safety requirements seriously and adhere to the NCPCR manual on child safety and security.

He said a task force headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu has already been formed to strengthen child protection within the school system, describing the conference as a crucial intervention at a time when the region is grappling with emerging child safety concerns.

PTI