Operation Muskaan is a project by the Ministry of the Interior to locate and rehabilitate missing children, and consists of a month-long campaign in a given state, where police officers carry out a series of actions to identify and rescue minors, and return them to their families.

The minors, 2,230 boys and 212 girls, were handed over to their parents or guardians, and in some cases they were placed in foster homes, the additional general director of the police, Shikha Goel, told reporters.

At least 436 people have been arrested and charged, said the officer, who did not elaborate in that regard.

In April, 625 families were fully reunited thanks to a police operation in Haryana, which allowed tracking down 324 children and 301 adults in 15 days.

According to a report, the police located 284 children; the Unit against Trafficking in Persons of the State Criminal Section handed over 40 minors to their relatives, and the police returned 262 missing adults to their homes, while the specialized forces contributed to locating another 39 people.

In addition, 183 beggars and 263 laborers under debt bondage were also rescued during the campaign.

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