Mumbai has witnessed a disturbing rise in cases of missing children, with police records showing that 145 minors went missing between June and December this year. Alarmingly, 93 of them are girls. Officials said that the situation worsened in recent weeks, with 82 children reported missing in just 36 days between November 1 and December 6. Older teenagers have been the most affected, accounting for more than half of these cases, including 41 girls and 13 boys under the age of 18.
Police also reported cases involving very young children, with girls as young as five years old and boys up to 11 years among the missing. The cases have been registered across multiple police stations, including Kurla Village, Vakola, Powai, Malwani and Sakinaka. Police suspect human trafficking to be a primary reason behind many of these disappearances. Authorities say a detailed investigation is underway, examining all possible angles to trace the missing children and curb the growing menace.
