Assam government Monday said over 8,400 children went missing in the state during the last five years and nearly half of them have remained untraced so far.
Replying to a query by BJP MLA Numal Momin during the Question Hour in Assam Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said 8,443 children were reported missing from 2013 to 2017.
The highest number of 1839 cases of missing children were reported in 2017, followed by 1,733 in 2016 and 1,674 in 2015, he said on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who holds the Home portfolio.
Patowary said 4,377 missing children have been rescued in the last five years, while the remaining are untraced.
He said 1,086 children were rescued in 2017, while 911 children were rescued in 2015 and 901 in 2016, he added.
On the rehabilitation measures, he said they are being taken as per the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and stress is given on sending the children back to their families wherever possible.
The children who are surrrendered, abandoned or orphaned, are given for adoption, he added.
At present, there are 122 child care institutions in the state, including four government-run children homes, five government-run observation homes and one government-run place of safety, Patowary said.