Suman Das, 11, missing from Gangadharpur in Hooghly from July 4

Devprasad Yadav, 13, missing from his hometown Dhanbad, in a suspected case of trafficking, from June 4

Gauri Maiti, 12, trafficked by a neighbour and rescued on June 27

A website — www.missingchildsearch.net — has been set up to maintain a nation-wide database of missing children. Don Bosco Ashalayam, Howrah, is a “hub” (co-ordinator) in West Bengal, responsible for data from the east, north and the north-east. A network of 46 organisations work under four hubs in the country.

A person can submit the name and particulars of a missing child, with a contact number, at the website. If there is a match after the information is uploaded, the person who has submitted the details on the child is contacted.

There are 3,184 missing children listed on the database. In 2005, 825 boys and 756 girls went missing from the state. “Most of the children rescued were from Howrah station,” says Saji Joseph, a volunteer.

Organisations and NGOs that are not a part of the network cannot access the database, which was launched in Calcutta in May at Don Bosco, Park Circus.

“We go to stations and carry out surveys to find out about abandoned children,” says Rina Kujur, another volunteer. She and her colleagues collect information by approaching children with a questionnaire. Stall-owners and taxi drivers are important sources.

Information from the website leads to the rescue of five to 10 children daily. The network says that West Bengal and Bihar report the most number of missing children.

“Bengal is the source, destination and transit of trafficking. The website is an encouraging step but needs to be more user-friendly,” says Sanjoy Mukherjee, special IG (CID), West Bengal.