‘Khoya-Paya’: how Delhi festivals handle missing children

The large crowds that gather at Delhi’s Ramlila grounds and Durga Puja pandals every festive season make it imperative for organisers to have a clear system to identify, locate and reunite missing children with their families. From the Luv Kush Ramlila at the Red Fort grounds to the Durga Puja pandals of Chittaranjan Park, the scale of these celebrations calls for dedicated help desks, coordinated surveillance and prompt police intervention when a child goes missing.

According to data from the Zonal Integrated Police Network, there have been at least 50 missing children cases in Delhi during the festive season from October 1 to 18.

In 2025, during the festive season, from September 1 to October 1, at least 600 such cases were reported in the city.

NCPR guidelines

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), in its ‘Guidelines for Organising Child-Friendly Melas and Large Gatherings’, sets out specific safeguards for children at crowded public events. The guidelines recommend “Setting up lost and found centres across the mela/ event premises” and linking these centres to the Khoya-Paya portal if a child remains untraced within three to four hours.

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The guidelines also call for multilingual personnel to make announcements, the display of emergency contact numbers and the distribution of leaflets containing route maps, safety instructions and details of emergency services. These measures are intended to help families seek assistance quickly, particularly at events attended by visitors from different parts of the country.

Another recommendation concerns technology-assisted identification. The guidelines state that a “tamper-proof wristband may be tied to every child at the entry gate”, carrying a parent’s or guardian’s contact number in indelible ink. They also recommend barcodes or radio-frequency identification tags, alongside CCTV cameras at entry and exit gates and across event premises.

These safeguards are particularly relevant to Delhi’s major festival venues, where dense crowds, multiple entry points and temporary structures can complicate efforts to trace a missing child. At the Red Fort grounds, the Luv Kush Ramlila attracts large audiences for its performances and Dussehra celebrations. In CR Park, multiple Durga Puja pandals draw visitors across residential blocks, placing additional pressure on organisers to ensure that help desks are visible and security personnel know how to respond to reports of missing children.

Delhi Police already provides several services that can support efforts to trace missing children. Its official website lists facilities for “Missing Person/Children Registration”, “Track The Missing Child (Mission Vatsalya)”, “Khoya Paya Child (GNCTD)” and “Missing Person Search”. These services provide established channels through which missing-child information can be registered, reported and searched for beyond the immediate confines of an event venue.

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1094 helpline

The police also publishes 1094 as its missing-persons helpline and 112 as its 24-hour emergency response number. These contacts should be prominently displayed at festival venues, alongside the details of the designated help desk and local police personnel.

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), meanwhile, says its Missing Children Unit monitors cases reported by Delhi Police, reviews missing-child complaints and coordinates with police authorities, anti-human-trafficking units, Child Welfare Committees, district child protection units and families. It also identifies locations where missing-child cases occur frequently and recommends measures to strengthen safeguards.

The commission’s role is important because tracing a child may require action beyond the immediate search at a pandal. Where a child cannot be located promptly, the response may involve formal police procedures, inter-agency coordination and follow-up through the relevant child-protection authorities.

Surveillance cameras and identification tags can be effective only when supported by a clearly defined response mechanism. Organisers should designate a central missing-child help desk, brief volunteers and security personnel before the event, and establish a direct line of communication with the police.

When a child is reported missing, the staff are required to immediately record the child’s description, clothing and last known location, alert security personnel and coordinate with police to check relevant CCTV footage and monitor exits. Families are advised to approach the nearest police officer or designated help desk without delay rather than wait for the three-to-four-hour period mentioned in the NCPCR guidelines. That period concerns linking an untraced child’s case to the Khoya-Paya portal; it is not a recommended waiting period before reporting a disappearance.

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Protocol for missing children

Public announcements can help locate a child, but identifying information should be handled carefully to protect the child’s privacy and safety. Children found alone should be taken to a designated safe location under authorised supervision while the police help verify their identity and contact their guardians. They should not be handed over to an unverified individual merely on the basis of a claim of parenthood.

The NCPCR guidelines also recommend deploying security guards or police personnel at entry gates and conducting awareness campaigns to inform children and guardians about identification tags and the steps to take if they become separated. Organisers should make the location of help desks and emergency contacts clear through signage and announcements, rather than relying on visitors to find assistance on their own.

The NCPCR’s recommendations and Delhi Police’s existing digital services offer complementary safeguards: the former set out preventive measures for organisers, while the latter provide channels for registering and tracing missing children. The challenge is to connect these systems at the venue level, ensuring that information reaches the police quickly and that every report is acted upon.

Dedicated help desks, trained volunteers, monitored entry and exit points, child-friendly identification measures and immediate police coordination should form part of the preparations for large gatherings. For Delhi’s Ramlila and Durga Puja organisers, the priority must be to ensure that a child who becomes separated from their family can be identified and reunited with their guardians as quickly and safely as possible.