Pune: While Pune Police have dismissed social media claims of a spate of kidnappings targeting girls as baseless, official statistics for the first nine months of 2026 show that 42 minor girls and 399 women remain untraced in cases registered in the city.
According to police data for the period from January 1 to September 30, a total of 470 cases involving the abduction of minor girls were recorded in Pune. Of these, 428 girls have been traced, while 42 remain untraced. The figures for women are higher: of the 1,684 women reported abducted during the same period, 1,285 have been traced, leaving 399 untraced.
The data also records 1,250 cases involving men, of whom 863 have been traced and 387 remain untraced. Together, the figures underline the scale of missing-person and abduction cases being handled by the city police, particularly those involving women and children.
The statistics assume significance amid growing public concern following the circulation of videos, reels and an audio clip claiming that 123 girls had been kidnapped in Pune within 22 hours. The claims sparked alarm among residents and parents, raising questions about the safety of girls in the city.
However, in an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Tejasvi Satpute rejected the viral claims, describing them as false and baseless. She clarified that there was no organised gang or group operating in Pune to kidnap girls.
Satpute said that in some cases, individuals return home on their own, but their families do not inform the police. As a result, such cases may remain under investigation until the necessary verification is completed.
She added that a dedicated team had been deployed to monitor criminal activities and that action was being taken wherever necessary. She expressed confidence that the remaining missing persons would be traced soon.
