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While police say many have run away to escape poverty or unhappy homes, or have even "eloped" with equally young sweethearts, Kamla believes otherwise -- and many child welfare experts agree with her.
"Somebody stole our child," she said, as her three small daughters clambered on the tiny bed in their cramped two-room home.
The independent child welfare organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) quotes police figures showing that most of the children who have gone missing in New Delhi in the past 12 months are aged between six and 15 years old.
This, they say, points to organised trafficking rings. Some suggest children could have been taken for prostitution, forced labour, illegal adoption or even organ harvesting.
"Proper investigation of the cases hasn't been done," said BBA national secretary and lawyer Bhuwan Ribhu, adding that police would take child disappearances more seriously if the parents were wealthy.
"This is serious organised crime we're dealing with," said Ribhu.
He said that in the last two years, BBA has rescued 1,500 children in New Delhi alone who had been kidnapped and put into forced labour.
To back up their claims of police indifference, Ribhu and other child protection advocates cite the mass murder case of Nithari, a slum outside New Delhi where 19 people, mostly children, were allegedly murdered by a businessman and his cannibal servant.
The crime came to light in December 2006 when remains were found in drains.
Nithari residents had repeatedly complained to police that their children had disappeared, only to be told their offspring had run away.
For Ribhu, the police attitude to the scourge of child disappearances reeks of discrimination against crime victims who are penniless and therefore powerless.
"The police cannot give a statement like this in the case of a rich man's child," Ribhu said of the references to elopements.
"You are talking about kids who are 12, 13, 14 years old.
"Forced labour for boys is one of the biggest causes of trafficking. I would say it is the single biggest cause of kids going missing in the country.
Kamla's story is typical of most families whose children disappear -- they eke out a meagre living in slums such as Sangam Vihar after moving to the capital in search of work.
The people who live in these shanty towns, where children run freely around the unpaved streets, are aware that child traffickers could be in their midst.
"We assume that there are many types of gangs working. Parents are also assuming that it might be the organ trade, prostitution or illegal adoption," said Reena Banerjee, director of women and children's charity Nav Srishti.
Some children who have returned to their families -- either tracked down or on their own -- have confirmed these fears, she said.
But even if parents do have some idea who might have snatched their child, they have neither the financial nor legal resources to do anything about it.
Rajan Bhagat, a spokesman for New Delhi police, said the age group of the missing children was no indication there was a pattern to the disappearances.
Contrary to the findings of BBA, he said that police had "not found even an iota of any evidence" to link the disappearances with criminal gangs.
Kamla said she does not believe the police are on her side.
"We don't know what the police are doing. They don't do anything. We don't have money so what will they do for us?" she said, adding police have not contacted her since she told them her son was missing.
Amod Kanth, chair of the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), said even if the police are unsure a child has been kidnapped or run away, the possibility that they might end up in the hands of traffickers "can't be ruled out".
"We want police to be more involved and more careful with regard to children," he said.
That is little consolation for parents like Kamla whose despair falls on deaf ears.
"Sometimes parents have totally given up hope after two or three years of running from pillar to post. They do not trust anybody," said Ribhu.
But even though she no longer expects police help, Kamla has not yet given up all hope of seeing Manesh again.
"Our son is alive today," she said. "He will come back."
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Image from www.digitaljournal.com.
"Somebody stole our child," she said, as her three small daughters clambered on the tiny bed in their cramped two-room home.
The independent child welfare organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) quotes police figures showing that most of the children who have gone missing in New Delhi in the past 12 months are aged between six and 15 years old.
This, they say, points to organised trafficking rings. Some suggest children could have been taken for prostitution, forced labour, illegal adoption or even organ harvesting.
"Proper investigation of the cases hasn't been done," said BBA national secretary and lawyer Bhuwan Ribhu, adding that police would take child disappearances more seriously if the parents were wealthy.
"This is serious organised crime we're dealing with," said Ribhu.
He said that in the last two years, BBA has rescued 1,500 children in New Delhi alone who had been kidnapped and put into forced labour.
To back up their claims of police indifference, Ribhu and other child protection advocates cite the mass murder case of Nithari, a slum outside New Delhi where 19 people, mostly children, were allegedly murdered by a businessman and his cannibal servant.
The crime came to light in December 2006 when remains were found in drains.
Nithari residents had repeatedly complained to police that their children had disappeared, only to be told their offspring had run away.
For Ribhu, the police attitude to the scourge of child disappearances reeks of discrimination against crime victims who are penniless and therefore powerless.
"The police cannot give a statement like this in the case of a rich man's child," Ribhu said of the references to elopements.
"You are talking about kids who are 12, 13, 14 years old.
"Forced labour for boys is one of the biggest causes of trafficking. I would say it is the single biggest cause of kids going missing in the country.
Kamla's story is typical of most families whose children disappear -- they eke out a meagre living in slums such as Sangam Vihar after moving to the capital in search of work.
The people who live in these shanty towns, where children run freely around the unpaved streets, are aware that child traffickers could be in their midst.
"We assume that there are many types of gangs working. Parents are also assuming that it might be the organ trade, prostitution or illegal adoption," said Reena Banerjee, director of women and children's charity Nav Srishti.
Some children who have returned to their families -- either tracked down or on their own -- have confirmed these fears, she said.
But even if parents do have some idea who might have snatched their child, they have neither the financial nor legal resources to do anything about it.
Rajan Bhagat, a spokesman for New Delhi police, said the age group of the missing children was no indication there was a pattern to the disappearances.
Contrary to the findings of BBA, he said that police had "not found even an iota of any evidence" to link the disappearances with criminal gangs.
Kamla said she does not believe the police are on her side.
"We don't know what the police are doing. They don't do anything. We don't have money so what will they do for us?" she said, adding police have not contacted her since she told them her son was missing.
Amod Kanth, chair of the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), said even if the police are unsure a child has been kidnapped or run away, the possibility that they might end up in the hands of traffickers "can't be ruled out".
"We want police to be more involved and more careful with regard to children," he said.
That is little consolation for parents like Kamla whose despair falls on deaf ears.
"Sometimes parents have totally given up hope after two or three years of running from pillar to post. They do not trust anybody," said Ribhu.
But even though she no longer expects police help, Kamla has not yet given up all hope of seeing Manesh again.
"Our son is alive today," she said. "He will come back."
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Image from www.digitaljournal.com.
