Dibrugarh: A 5-year-old child was reportedly abducted from Bashbari Namdang village under Margherita police station in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia on Sunday evening.
The child has been identified as Amit Bhumij. It has been suspected that the child has been abducted by child traffickers.
According to reports, Amit Bhumij is the son of Kalicharan and Kajal Bhumij.
“Amit was last seen around 4 pm while playing near the courtyard of his home. An unidentified person had been spotted standing where the child was playing,” said Kajal Bhumij.
She added, “The incident happened on Sunday evening when he was playing. Two unidentified persons came and took him. We don’t know who they were and why they took my child.”
The family members of the victim filed an FIR at Margherita police station.
“We suspected that the child has been picked up by child traffickers who are active in this part. Last year in December, a similar incident occurred and till date the child has been missing. The police could not find anything about the child,” said Prabhu Sai Horo, a resident of Namdang.
He added, “Last year in December, Bijoy Tapno’s minor son reportedly went missing but till date police could not find any trace of the child. It’s a serious issue in Margherita and every year children are missing from here.”
“Child traffickers are active in these areas and they target small children. They take them to different locations and sell them to others,” said Horo.
Following the latest incident, a team from the Margherita police reached the village and has begun an investigation into the child’s disappearance.
“We have launched an investigation to find the missing child. We are collecting all angles. Most of the time the neighbours and relatives are involved in such crimes,” said a police official.
Recently, the villagers of Duarmara Singpo village nabbed a person suspected to be associated with child trafficking when the accused reportedly took away two minor children from a tea estate.
The cases of child trafficking have been increasing in the tea estates and every year children reportedly go missing from the tea estate areas.
“There are agents in tea garden areas who work for the child traffickers. They give information to them and in an organised way they take away children from tea estate areas,” said a police source.
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