Firozabad: A compelling ‘Missing Children’ banner, widely circulated on social media and WhatsApp groups, became vital in rescue of four siblings, who had gone missing from Firozabad. The four siblings were spotted by a passenger travelling from Etawah to Delhi, who recognised them from the WhatsApp post he had seen from Firozabad Police. A good samaritan alerted the police who lost no time in acting and rescuing the children from Tundla station.    

“This is a classic case of how conventional policing is getting bolstered by smart use of social and digital media,” said SSP Ashish Tiwari, an IIT-ian and strong votary of tech deployment in policing. 

On July 8, Sanju, a resident of Nagla Fateh in the Nagla Khangar police station area of Firozabad district, filed a report at the police station stating that his four children were missing. Sanju and his wife had left their children at home while they went to work as laborers. Upon returning in the evening, they discovered that the children were missing. Despite extensive search efforts, the children remained untraced. The Nagla Khangar Police team promptly registered a complaint regarding the missing children.

Tiwari informed that eight teams were formed to safely recover the missing children. “Extensive measures were taken, including CCTV inspection, pamphlet distribution, and search operations at key locations like bus stands and railway stations. A social media campaign was also launched to gather information and aid in identification. In addition to this, coordination with neighboring districts was established to step up the search efforts,” informed SSP Tiwari, a 40 Under 40 Awardee of IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police), USA in 2022. 

He added, ”A passenger on a train from Etawah to Delhi recognized the four children from their photos on a social media platform. He immediately contacted Nagla Khangar Police Station and reported that the children were on the train heading towards Delhi. The police swiftly collaborated with the search team at Tundla station, and with the help of GRP Tundla, they halted the train at Tundla station and successfully rescued all four children, and reunited the children with their family.” 

Rahul Srivastava, Additional SP, ATS & Media Cell at UP Police, expressed joy at the rescue and said he “feels vindicated watching deployment of digital platforms leading to such gratifying results.” Srivastava is credited with establishing the IT wing of UP Intelligence Department in 2010 and pioneering digital transformation of UP Police by launching the department on various social media platforms in 2016. 

“I wanted the force to become a strong bulwark against fake news using this digital transformation. I am happy that today UP Police is recognised for its novelty and smart use of social and digital media,” Srivastava added.

This incident serves as a shining example of the positive impact social media can have in mobilizing communities, generating awareness, and facilitating swift resolution of critical situations.