Mumbai: Mumbai Police registered 875 kidnapping cases involving minor girls between January and August 2026, detecting 846 (97%). However, social activists say nearly 95% involve girls eloping, often due to abuse, discrimination and family problems.
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During the corresponding period in 2025, police registered 941 cases and detected 879 (93%). In August 2026 alone, 109 cases were registered and 91 detected.
In July, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the legislature that state data from 2021–2026 showed 46.32% of missing women left over romantic relationships, 20% due to family problems and 2% because of mental stress. Among men, 32% left over domestic issues and 9.12% for romantic relationships.
Advocate Audrey D’Mello, Director of Majlis, said girls from poor and lower-middleclass families often face physical and verbal abuse or discrimination by relatives, making them vulnerable to men approaching them personally or through social media.
“These men lure the girls with promises of marriage or a better life,” she said, urging society to examine underlying causes rather than blame minors.
A police officer said kidnapping cases must be registered whenever minors go missing, even if they leave voluntarily, with investigations necessary to establish circumstances and ensure safety.
On July 21, a seven-year-old girl disappeared from a Dadar Hindu Colony school. Matunga police traced her to Pydhonie through CCTV. She said she missed her parents. That day, a 13-year-old Class IX student from Sewri disappeared after school but returned after meeting friends.
In August, two 17-year-olds went missing in Bhiwandi. One left to visit a friend; another left Brahmanand Nagar, Kamatghar, around 2am while her family slept. Shantinagar and Narpoli police registered kidnapping cases and launched searches.
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