Seema Dhaka Rescues 76 Missing Children. Is Promoted For Her Heroic Effort

A hero of our times. Meet Seema Dhaka, who tracked 76 missing children. The head constable from Samaypur Badli police station, has become the first police personnel to get an ‘out-of-turn’ promotion for her mission. She was rewarded for tracing a record number of missing children in a short period and uniting them with their families. Dhaka rescued 56 children who are below the age of 14 in 3 months, in total, she has tracked more than 76 children in Delhi and other states. In a country like India where more than 175 children go missing each day, every single life rescued is real feat. Dhaka's work in tracing these children means so many more were saved from being potentially trafficked.

Delhi police commissioner SN Shrivastava earlier announced out of turn promotion for constables who rescue 50 children in one year. Dhaka, who is posted in the Outer North district of Delhi, outdid the target and rescued 76 children in less than three months. Out of the 76 children, 56 are aged around 7-12. Her commendable job made her the first personnel to get a promotion within three months.

Dhaka, a mother to one, has rescued children from Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, and Punjab, among others. She said she was working on such cases for months and added that her seniors also pushed her to solve more cases and help families. She said “My seniors and team members helped me get this promotion. I am a mother and never want someone to lose their child. We worked round the clock every day on missing reports to rescue children,” in an interview to the Indian Express.

As  woman on a job like hers, Dhaka says she is blessed with an extremely supportive husband and family. Her mother in law sends tiffin whenever she is unable to be home for dinner. Dhaka’s child who is eight years old is taken care of by her relative. Her family always prioritise her job over anything and never demand her presence during festivals or when other guests have come by to visit.

Dhaka joined the forces in 2006 and, after appearing for an exam five years later, she became the head constable.

Some Of Her Challenging Cases

One of the personnel’s most challenging cases was the one where she rescued a 7-year-old who was missing for five years. To rescue the child she had to cross two rivers in the flood-hit area of the Debra region of West Bengal. The boy who went missing from Rohini in Delhi left his house because his stepfather didn’t accept him and used to beat him.

Recalling another one of her cases she told TOI, “Though children above 14 are not a part of the out-of-turn promotion scheme, a 15-year- old girl was rescued from Tigri Dam in Almora. I can’t tell you in words how happy the girl was when we turned up. She had been married forcefully and had two children. She was kept locked in her house and wasn’t even given proper food.” She further remembered how happy the girl’s parents were when they saw her.

Image Credit: Indian Express

Arunima Sharma s an intern with SheThePeople.TV