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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.

The show must go on

Assam’s cultural void and the Post Malone moment.

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The cultural vacuum left by the demise of Zubeen Garg continues to echo through Assam, resurfacing sharply during the recent Post Malone concert in Guwahati. Zubeen, the state’s most beloved musical icon, had dominated the cultural landscape for over three decades. With songs in more than 40 languages and dialects, and a career spanning 33 years, he was not just a singer but a cultural force whose music stitched together generations. His Bollywood hit Ya Ali from Gangster (2006) catapulted him to national fame, but in Assam, he had long been revered as the state’s “first true rockstar.”


His sudden and tragic death on September 19 in Singapore where he had travelled to perform at a live show left an emotional void unlike anything the region had experienced in recent memory. The circumstances of the accident during a yacht trip triggered an outpouring of grief and anger. Assam came to a standstill: shops closed, schools shut down, and streets emptied. In a haunting echo of his earlier remark that Assam would “shut down for seven days” upon his passing, the state seemed to fulfil his prophecy. The cultural heartbeat he embodied fell silent.


Months later, when Post Malone arrived in Assam for a performance, the global superstar stepped into an emotional landscape still shaped by that loss. Guwahati was ready for a high-voltage concert, but what unfolded was a reminder of the immense cultural space Zubeen once occupied. As Malone paused mid-performance to honour the late legend, saying, “To be in the home of the great legendary Zubeen tonight… I’ve come to play some street songs,” the crowd erupted not just in excitement, but in collective remembrance.


Reopened Wound

The tribute was unexpected, and it reopened a wound that had barely begun to heal. Social media lit up instantly, with fans describing the moment as heartfelt and deeply resonant. The applause that followed was not only for the American artist but for the memory of the man whose absence still defines the cultural mood of the region.


In that moment, Guwahati became the stage where two worlds met: one global, electrifying and loud; the other, grieving, nostalgic, and searching for the familiar voice it had lost. The Post Malone concert didn’t fill the vacuum because perhaps it can never be filled but it made the silence Zubeen left behind feel alive again.


Assam still measures its cultural pulse against the space Zubeen once occupied.  Every tribute, every memory, every gathering reminds people of the unmistakable truth: the void he left is permanent, and the landscape of Assamese music will forever bear the imprint of the legend who is no longer here.


Charges Framed

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing into the death of singer Zubeen Garg, on Friday charged four accused – Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddhartha Sharma, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta – with murder in its chargesheet filed in a Guwahati court.


Shyamkanu Mahanta was the chief organiser of the North East India Festival, which was attended by Garg in Singapore, where he died under mysterious circumstances while swimming in the sea on September 19.


Garg's cousin and suspended Assam Police officer Sandipan Garg has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the chargsheet submitted at the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court earlier in the day, lawyers said.


Sharma was the singer's secretary, while Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta were members of Garg's band.


The singer's two personal security officers (PSOs) Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya have been charged under Section 31c of the BNS, which deals with criminal breach of trust by misappropriating funds or property entrusted to them, the lawyers said.


The Assam government had constituted the SIT, led by Special DGP M P Gupta, to investigate into the singer's death.


Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had claimed in the recently concluded assembly session that Garg's death was 'plain and simple murder'.


(The writer is a media professional and a Research Associate with IIM, Shilong. Views personal.)

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