Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Years after their children disappeared, several families in Madhya Pradesh continue to live between hope and heartbreak, waiting for answers that never came.
On International Missing Children’s Day, stories from across the state reveal not only the agony of children who vanished without a trace, but also the lifelong trauma faced by those who returned after abuse and exploitation.
From a father in Guna still searching for his daughter after nine years, to a family in Sagar waiting for clues for more than six years, and a teenage survivor in Chhatarpur struggling to recover mentally even after rescue, the pain continues to haunt families across the state.
Father’s never-ending wait of nine years
In a small mud hut in Sirsi village of Guna, Gajendra Chandel still waits for his daughter Geeta, who went missing nearly nine years ago. Born prematurely in her seventh month, Geeta was raised single-handedly by her father after her mother died in 2013.
According to Chandel, the girl left home to collect kerosene from a ration shop on August 1, 2017, but never returned. Chandel spent days searching for her and allegedly struggled to get police to register a complaint.
After years of investigation, multiple interrogations and court intervention, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was eventually directed by the Gwalior High Court to probe the case. But Geeta remains untraced.
Bro waiting for sister for over 6 years
A similar pain haunts a family in Sagar, where a minor girl disappeared more than six years ago while visiting relatives. Her brother Sanat recalled that she had promised to return home by evening, but never came back.
He said the family searched for months, approached police and followed every possible lead, but there has been no clue about her whereabouts till date. “We were not rich enough to pay large amounts of money but we still did whatever we could. Now, our hope is beginning to fade,” Sanat said.
For some children who return, the trauma never ends
Madhuri, name changed, a 14-year-old from Chhatarpur, was lured away in 2015 by an older boy linked to her school. What began as a teenage relationship turned into months of captivity after the boy allegedly abandoned her in Delhi with his friends who raped her for nine months.
She managed to escape and was reunited with her family through the efforts of police and Childline. While the suspects were later arrested under IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, Madhuri continues to suffer severe mental trauma years later.
Horrifying MP
Nearly one out of every eight reported cases of missing children in the country is from Madhya Pradesh. The state recorded an almost 19% rise in missing children cases within one year, with girls accounting for nearly 80% of the total cases, according to latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report. In 2024, an average of 52 children went missing every day in Madhya Pradesh of whom 42 were girls.
