From GD to FIR: Is Justice Fast Enough?

Between January and July 2026, police headquarters recorded 15,917 General Diaries (GDs) for missing children in Bangladesh. Over 75 GDs a day on average. In such cases, where circumstances suggest possible kidnapping, trafficking, or another cognizable offence, the question is not just whether a GD has been recorded. A more important question arises about whether the criminal justice process has begun quickly enough.

When a child goes missing time begins to tick before any official forms are filled out. The General Diary or GD might be the official note made about the case. How things move after that can decide if the search turns into a criminal investigation or just ends up as another cold case never solved. In September 2026, children went missing in Pabna, Jamalpur, Madaripur, Khulna and Cumilla and their bodies were found out within hours and days respectively. In the same month, a father went police station whose son has been missing for one and a half months. He also shared his ordeal at a press conference titled “Where Is My Child?” organised by Zero Missing Children at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the capital on September 6. He alleged that he had to visit the nearest police station for three days after his son went missing before police finally accepted a general diary (GD). He said the police have not contacted the family since then. Police said “You lost your child, what can I do?” then this case moved from Detective Branch to PBI. The first problem is not whether a GD exists but what the system does after a GD is made. Section 44 of the Police Act 1861 requires the officer in charge to keep the station diary and to record complaints and charges. A GD creates a trail but a GD should not replace criminal action when the facts point to a cognizable offence. The procedural gap between creating a GD and starting an investigation deserves a lot of attention. Some families say there were delays in accepting GDs finding suspects beginning searches and moving investigations forward. Recent media reports have shown these claims, a case where a father said he went to a police station many times before his child missing GD was accepted. These reports do not prove that every police station works this way. But they do raise a question about the system: is there a truly uniform response, to every child missing report?


The solution should not involve adding another layer of paperwork but rather be a system in which each missing child is treated as a time-sensitive matter. At the police station, a standard response procedure should be put into action, including an immediate risk assessment and escalating the situation if kidnapping or trafficking is suspected. Coordinated searches and the lawful preservation of CCTV footage, digital records and witness evidence should be carried out during the first 24 to 48 hours. Any case that fails to make meaningful progress should be subject to automatic supervisory review and should be promptly transferred to the DB, PBI or CID when specialised investigation is required. A nationwide case-tracking system could also enable police units to share information and allow families to get regular updates.