TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Even as 800 persons go missing annually in Goa, the “Missing Persons Squad” (MPS) formed by Goa Police is now almost defunct, since none of the cases are referred to it.
The ambitious unit was formed after police was stung by widespread criticism for failing to investigate missing persons’ complaints that surfaced soon after the arrest of alleged serial killer Mahanand Naik.
Neither has a separate team been formed for this unit, nor are missing persons’ complaints registered or referred to it.
Instead complaints of nearly 800 persons who go missing annually on average, are registered with the respective police stations and not MPS.
In 2012-13, a total of 810 missing persons’ complaints were registered at various police stations across the State out of which 672 persons were traced, while the rest are still missing. The preceding financial year the figure was 936 of which 777 persons were located and whereabouts of 159 are unknown.
The squad shares it personnel with the women and child protection unit (WCPU) of Goa Police, which ironically is itself short of manpower. What’s most interesting is that the WCPU, having 12 staff headed by an inspector, is also given the charge of anti-human trafficking unit that requires a dedicated force like MPS.
