Dehradun, February 11 Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal on Wednesday demanded an investigation into whether the state's high rate of missing children, particularly girls, is linked to the provisions regarding live-in relationships under the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
Citing data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in a social media post, Godiyal described the situation in the state as alarming.
"According to the NCRB report, nearly 1,200 children, especially girls, go missing in Uttarakhand every year. This averages to about three children per day, and the recovery rate remains very low," Godiyal said.
The Congress leader claimed that Uttarakhand is at the top of the list of Himalayan states regarding such incidents.
Godiyal pointed to a video of the chief minister's wife, Geeta Dhami, in which she discussed the UCC and its provisions regarding live-in relationships.
"On one hand, this is the situation regarding the safety of women and children in our state. On the other hand, the chief minister's wife is seen emotionally stating that the 'Mukhya Sevak' has not taken a single day off. Among the works attributed to Dhami ji, she mentioned the UCC and advocated for the rules framed regarding live-in relationships," he said.
The state Congress chief urged the chief minister to order an inquiry to clarify if there is any connection between the disappearance of girls and the UCC regulations regarding live-in relationships.
"My concern is that since live-in relationships have been granted legal recognition, it may have emboldened criminals, with the daughters of our state becoming victims," Godiyal said.
He added that since the chief minister's wife had raised the subject of the UCC, he hoped the government would take the matter seriously.