Parents of abducted children will be apprised of probe: MP CM

The state government is committed toreunite the abducted or missing children to their families,the chief minister said.Meanwhile, Chouhan also demanded a debate for a parityin the legal age of marriage between both the sexes.There should be a debate on whether the legal age ofmarriage to be raised for women to 21 years from the current18 years.

Parents of children abducted inMadhya Pradesh will soon be able to track the progress of thecase including the status of investigation by police, ChiefMinister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday.

Chouhan also said that due to efforts of the police,various crimes against women have come down by 15 to 50 percent in Madhya Pradesh in the last eight months.

He said the state government has decided that parentsof an abducted child will get an ''Adhikar Patra'' or authorityletter, containing the information about the action taken bythe police towards tracing the child.

He was speaking at a gathering to launch a womenawareness campaign.

''The 'Adhikar Patra'' will have information about thecourse of the action (in a case of abduction) by the policeand the timeframe. As per this arrangement, the family of thekidnapped child will get to discuss the case with the policestation in-charge concerned every 15 days. The sub-divisionalofficer of police (SDOP) concerned will review the case diaryevery 30 days,'' the chief minister said.

It will be ensured that the action is taken as per theapproved checklist, Chouhan said.

He said superintendents of police (SPs) and othersenior officials will review the cases of abducted girls.

''Cases of abducted girls will be studied to check suchcrimes in Madhya Pradesh. The state government is committed toreunite the abducted or missing children to their families,''the chief minister said.

Meanwhile, Chouhan also demanded a debate for a parityin the legal age of marriage between both the sexes.

''There should be a debate on whether the legal age ofmarriage to be raised for women to 21 years from the current18 years. When the marriageable age for men is 21 years thenwhy not the same for women? We should think over it,'' he said.

PTI ADUNSK NSK