Nagpur: The problem of missing young girls and women from Nagpur has been persistent in recent years. Calls for concrete steps were met by police inaction. However, it was revealed by the state government itself that around 2250 girls have gone missing in merely 8 months in the district.
MLAs Pravin Datake and Chandrashekhar Bavankule had brought up this issue in Vidhan Parishad as a starred question to which Deputy CM Devendra Fadanvis wrote a written response revealing the data. From March 2023 to October 2023, around 3838 persons were reported as missing in Nagpur district of which 2011 were women and 225 were young children. The answer also disclosed that 88% of persons missing under the jurisdiction of the city police commission are found by authorities, whereas the percentage of those found after being eloped is around 94%.
One of the reasons behind missing young women and girls is them eloping from home after disagreements with family or roam around with friends on the excuse of studying, and other domestic reasons. There are also instances of girls being lured away by giving false promises which includes the majority of romantic affairs.
Nagpur Police is keen on finding missing people and has taken initiatives such as Bharosa Cell and Police Didi on the level of local stations. Within these initiatives, a team of police Didi visit schools, colleges, private coaching institutes, slums, and women's hostels to guide young girls and boys.