DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 14: A 12-year-old boy was rescued at the Railgate area of Dimapur on Tuesday morning after a group of people allegedly attempted to persuade him to travel with them by train to another place, assuring him that they would take care of him.
According to Sanjay Dey, Executive Member of the Dimapur District Autoricksha Drivers’ Union (DDADU), the incident occurred at around 10:30 am when he noticed a group of three to four people asking the child to accompany them by train. Suspecting something was amiss, Dey intervened and questioned the group.
He said the individuals had reportedly arrived by an auto-rickshaw and stopped at Railgate, while the child appeared unaware of where he was being taken.Dey subsequently took the child to the DDADU office, provided him with food and informed the union president about the incident.
Following this, the DDADU president contacted the Child Helpline in Dimapur, and the child was handed over to the concerned authorities for further assistance and care.
Speaking to NNN off camera, the child claimed that he was from Assam and had travelled from Kohima to Dimapur that morning by Tata vehicle. He also stated that he had no family members, that his parents had died long ago, and that he had been living as a domestic helper in someone’s house in Kohima. However, these claims could not be independently verified at the time of reporting.
The DDADU president informed NNN that such cases were not unprecedented, adding that the union had instructed its auto-rickshaw drivers and members to report similar incidents to its office. He noted that the union’s members operate across different parts of Dimapur, enabling them to assist in identifying and reporting cases involving missing or vulnerable children.
A member of the Child Welfare Committee, speaking to NNN, also stated that such incidents were not uncommon, adding that auto-rickshaw drivers had on previous occasions brought lost or missing children to the attention of the authorities.The member acknowledged the role of community members in assisting vulnerable children and urged the public to continue extending a helping hand by promptly informing the concerned authorities whenever they encounter lost, missing or potentially vulnerable children.
