93,000 women missing in this Indian state in two years; government releases figures

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has released shocking figures of missing women in the last two years. The Devendra Fadnavis government has informed the assembly that more than 93,000 women have gone missing in the state in the last two years. The increase in the number of missing people every year is posing a big challenge for the police and the administration.

In 2024, 45,662 adult women went missing, of which 30,877 were found. In the same year, 11,316 girls went missing, of which 8,475 were found, including minors. By 2025, the number of missing people had increased. Out of 48,278 adult women, 36,581 were found. Out of 12,113 minor girls, 10,295 were found. Although the police have been able to find most of them, there is still no trace of the whereabouts of thousands of women.

The government had implemented a special scheme called Operation Muskan since July 2015 to locate missing children and reunite them with their family members. 13 phases of the scheme have been completed till 2024. The 14th phase of the scheme is in progress since this year. As per the figures till February 16, the police have found 454 boys and 947 girls.

In addition, in the case of children between the ages of 15 and 18, the police were able to trace 4,813 of the 4,989 missing persons during 2024-25. Officers are using digital systems and the help of local police in various places to trace missing persons. The police are giving more importance to cases where children go missing.