60 cops scan 50 CCTV feeds, two missing children traced in an hour in Manesar

Gurgaon: At 10.30pm on Saturday, Lalit, a resident of Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, reached Manesar police station after discovering that his four-year-old son — Veer — was missing. Around the same time, Vishnu, a resident of Etah in Uttar Pradesh, reported that his six-year-old son — Kaira — had also gone missing.However, by 11.30pm, the children were safely recovered and handed over to their families. But not before more than 60 police personnel scanned footage from over 50 CCTV cameras and carried out an intensive ground search to trace the two missing children — around an hour after their families approached police for help.Following the complaints, Manesar police formed multiple teams and launched a coordinated search operation. Emergency response vehicles, rider teams and local police personnel were deployed across the area. According to investigators, the search operation was conducted simultaneously on multiple fronts. While one team continuously monitored CCTV footage and tracked the children’s movements, another team followed those leads on the ground.Police analysed footage from the CCTV cameras installed along routes leading from the children’s homes and nearby localities. The children’s photographs were also circulated among local residents and police teams on the ground. Within an hour, the children — who had wandered away while playing near their homes — were later found safe in Naharpur village.An officer said, “The children’s parents were migrant labourers and were not familiar with the area, which added to their anxiety.” Both men work as labourers and returned home in the evening to find their children absent. After making efforts to locate them on their own, they approached the police.“The SHO deployed the entire police station personnel,” the officer said, adding, “The SHO was coordinating with staff regarding any sighting of the children in CCTV footage, while another team was navigating the area based on those inputs. They were still playing when we traced them.” Police later counselled the parents about their children’s safety.