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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Raj Thackeray tormented over ‘missing kids’ in state

Mumbai : Expressing grave concerns over the steep rise in cases of ‘missing children’ in the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray has accused the state government of treating the matter casually and failing to respond to it urgently.   In an open missive on 'X' to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray quoted data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) pointing at almost an alarming 30 pc increase in the number of children ‘missing’ in the state...

Raj Thackeray tormented over ‘missing kids’ in state

Mumbai : Expressing grave concerns over the steep rise in cases of ‘missing children’ in the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray has accused the state government of treating the matter casually and failing to respond to it urgently.   In an open missive on 'X' to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray quoted data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) pointing at almost an alarming 30 pc increase in the number of children ‘missing’ in the state between 2021-2024.   When asked for his reactions, Fadnavis told media-persons in Nagpur that he had not read the letter, but the issue raised is important and he would reply to it. Fadnavis stated that the NCRB has also provided the reasons why the kids go ‘missing’, how they return and the period, ranging from 3 days to 18 months.   Dwelling on the sufficiency of the NCRB figures, he contended that they reflect only complaints formally registered by the police and thousands of cases may never be reported.   On the ‘rescue, return and reunion’ of such missing children, he pointed to the sheer psychological trauma they may have suffered and sought to know how such child-lifter networks continued to thrive openly and blatantly.   The MNS chief targeted what he claimed was the “state’s lack of proactive measures to identify and dismantle child-begging rackets” as many juveniles can be seen begging at railway stations, bus stands, traffic signals, often accompanied by adults with doubtful authenticity.   “If some woman claims to be the child’s relative or guardian, should the government not order a thorough probe? Is it inappropriate to consider even a DNA test in suspicious cases,” Raj Thackeray demanded.   Slamming the government and the Opposition, he lamented how both sides failed to prioritise such urgent social issues in the legislature where discussions centre around partisan sparring.   The letter also mentions attempts by the Centre to coordinate with states on the ‘missing or trafficked children’, regretting how political upmanships and symbolic debates prevent meaningful action on the ground.   The NCRB said that Maharashtra has consistently ranked among states with the highest number of ‘missing children’, particularly in urban centres like Mumbai, Thane, and Pune.   Simultaneously, experts, child rights NGOs and activists have warned about trafficking networks that exploit poverty, migration and weak law enforcement and low convictions, despite official rescue missions or rehab efforts.   In his appeal, Raj Thackeray called upon Fadnavis to take concrete, visible measures rather than discussions and conventions. “Maharashtra expects decisive steps from you, not speeches. Jai Maharashtra,” he signed off.     In October 2023,Sharad Pawar red-flagged ‘missing girls-women’ This is the second major social cause by a political leader, two years after Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar had red-flagged nearly 20,000 ‘missing women and girls’ from the state between Jan-May 2023.   In the present instance, Raj Thackeray said that “behind the statistics lies a far more disturbing reality involving organised, inter-state gangs that kidnap children, physically abuse them and force them into begging rings”.   “Little kids are assaulted, made to beg and shifted across states. Groups of children disappear suddenly, and the government appears unable, or unwilling, to grasp the seriousness of what is happening,” said Thackeray in a strong tone.

Legacy Undone

The Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) was once a byword for intellectual rigour. Founded in 1930 by the Servants of India Society (SIS), a body inspired by the liberal nationalism of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, it has produced some of India’s finest minds in economics and public policy. But today, its name is more often in the crime briefs than in academic journals. The rot in one of India’s most storied institutions appears to run deep and regrettably, comes from within.


A probe by the Pune city police into alleged financial misappropriation at GIPE has revealed not merely a lapse in financial prudence, but a systematic and possibly premeditated diversion of funds. The trigger was an FIR by the institute’s officiating Deputy Registrar who alleged that over Rs. 1.42 crore was siphoned off between December 2022 and 2023. This led to the secretary of the SIS being taken in police custody after being accused of fraud, cheating and criminal breach of trust.


The case is remarkable not just for the scale of the alleged misappropriation, but for the brazenness of conduct. In one instance, Rs. 10 lakh was purportedly transferred from GIPE to SIS to pay legal fees for the SIS secretary’s personal case involving forgery and land disputes. In another, the secretary is said to have unilaterally written to GIPE in December 2022 requesting Rs. 1.5 crore to convert SIS-owned land in Nagpur from leasehold to freehold. Within two days, the GIPE board gave its nod in blatant violation of University Grants Commission (UGC) norms which expressly forbids diversion of institutional funds.


The sanctity of GIPE’s autonomy, academic mission and public trust is being eroded by these revelations. For decades, GIPE stood as a rare example of an Indian academic institution untethered from the usual state interference. It was independent, serious and austere - qualities increasingly scarce in India’s higher education landscape.


Now, it is mired in a drama more suited to a corporate boardroom brawl than a temple of learning. Even the appointment of Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, as chancellor turned into a political farce. SIS first dismissed him for failing to arrest GIPE’s ‘downfall’ only to sheepishly retract its decision, citing a misunderstanding. Sanyal hit back, pointing out that SIS, far from supporting the institute, now acts more as a landlord collecting rent than a patron of scholarship.


GIPE’s decline is not the result of academic failure but of governance decay. The UGC’s failure to enforce its own regulations, the absence of effective checks and balances within SIS and the apparent complicity of key functionaries at GIPE have together created a perfect storm of mismanagement.


Gopal Krishna Gokhale believed that public service was a sacred calling. The institute that bears his name was meant to embody those ideals. Instead, it has been reduced to a cautionary tale of how legacy institutions can be hollowed out from within.

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