he rise in the number of child kidnapping cases in Varanasi has led parents in the city to make them go in for self-defense training in martial arts.
Consider this: In the last few months, 13 school children have been kidnapped from various schools in the city.
In the last six months, around 41 cases of kidnappings were registered. Of them, 24 were child kidnappings.
Worried parents are enrolling their children, as young as five-year olds, to learn martial arts.
What your child can learn at a self-defense class
i. How to react if confronted by a stranger.
ii. How to tackle other threats to your child's safety, including people s/he knows.
iii. How to break holds and how to respond if attacked with a weapon.
Many courses are specifically targeted for girls.
Many schools in the city, too, have started martial arts classes for students.
"There is an increase in kidnappings [in the city], so we are focusing on this particular aspect of the child's development -- learning how to defend yourself. We have different forms of martial arts, like karate, taekwondo, boxing," said Paul P V, Principal of Sunbeam School, Varanasi.
Even the police has adopted an aggressive attitude towards the incidents. Uttar Pradesh DGP Yashpal Singh says, "Our strategy of tackling kidnapping cases is, we register a case and carry on with our own inquiry. Even if the concerned party does not respond, we will continue with our investigations and try and solve the case."
This is a call for you. Enrol your child at a self-defense class in your city! Help your child protect himself/ herself!
DON'T MISS!
