Operation Muskan: Mumbai Railway Police Reunite Over 2,100 Children With Families

Mumbai: The Mumbai Railway Police have reunited 2,117 children with their parents and 345 adults with their families over the past five years under Operation Muskan, a rescue initiative aimed at protecting vulnerable children and missing persons across the railway network.

Police data shows that since 2021, more than 6,000 children found wandering or travelling alone on Mumbai’s railway network were safely reunited with their families. Between January and April 2026 alone, the Government Railway Police (GRP) reunited 173 children and 27 adults with their relatives.

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The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) has also played a major role in tracing missing children and kidnapping victims. Between 2021 and 2026, 167 AHTU cases were registered, of which 162 have been solved. The cases involved 109 girls and 58 boys. The unit also conducted special drives such as Operation Shodh and Operation Muskan-14.

Operation Muskan is implemented across Maharashtra to rescue children and vulnerable persons found in unsafe conditions at railway stations, bus depots and crowded public places before reuniting them with their families.

Kishor Shinde, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Railway Police, Bandra, said Mumbai railway stations often become the first point where runaway children are noticed because train travel is cheap and accessible.

According to police officials, many children leave home after being scolded by parents, due to academic pressure, poverty, domestic disputes or dreams of finding jobs and success in Mumbai.

Around eight to ten NGOs work closely with the GRP during rescue operations. Santosh Shinde, child activist from Vidhayak Bharati NGO, said, “Our organisation has been working with the Maharashtra Police for the last 35 years. We work with the police at every step.”

He added that NGO volunteers and child activists help children feel safe, visit juvenile homes and coordinate with welfare authorities when children cannot immediately return home.

GRP data shows rescues by the Nirbhaya Pathak rose sharply from five children in 2021 to 931 in 2025. Another 173 children have been reunited with families between January and April this year.

In April, railway police rescued seven boys from Jharkhand travelling alone on the Asansol–Mumbai Express. In another case, a 14-year-old boy from Jharkhand was found alone near Kalyan railway station after travelling to Mumbai “to roam around the city.”

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