Delhi reports 21,500+ missing persons till Nov 15: Police data

New Delhi: A total of 21,591 people were reported missing in Delhi till November 15 this year, of whom 13,072 were female, and 8,519 were male, according to data shared by the Delhi Police.

Women and girls continued to be a large part of the missing persons list, accounting for around 60 per cent of all cases recorded up to mid-November, it showed.

Police data showed that the figure marked a sharp increase from the 19,682 people missing till October 15, an addition of 1,909 cases, or a 10 per cent rise, within a month.

During the period, 1,155 females and 754 males were newly reported missing.

According to the data, the youngest age group, children between 0 and 8, registered a total of 339 missing cases till November 15, of which 136 (40 per cent) were girls and 203 (60 per cent) were boys. Police traced 192 children in this category, while 147 remain untraced.

Compared to October 15, when 304 children in this age group went missing, the figure rose by 35 cases. Missing girls increased from 124 to 136, while missing boys went up from 180 to 203, it said. The data showed that children aged between 8 and 12 going missing saw a notable increase.

The total missing count in the age group reached 422 cases by November 15, including 143 girls (34 per cent) and 279 boys (66 per cent). Of them, police traced 332, while 90 remain untraced, the data updated on November 27 showed.

This was a increase of 39 cases from the 383 missing children recorded in this group on October 15. Missing girls rose from 127 to 143, and boys from 256 to 279 during one month, it added.

Children aged 12 to 18 recorded the largest spike among minors, with total missing cases rising to 4,535. This included 3,548 girls (78 per cent) and 987 boys (22 per cent). Police traced 3,215 teenagers, while 1,320 remain untraced.

Compared to October 15, when 4,167 teenagers were missing, there was an increase of 368 cases. The category saw a rise of 290 missing girls (3,258 to 3,548) and 78 missing boys (909 to 987), making teenage girls the most affected section among minors.

Overall, the number of missing children (0-18 years) in Delhi rose to 5,341 till November 15. Of them, 3,872 (72 per cent) were girls, and 1,469 (28 per cent) were boys. Police traced 3,739 children, while 1,602 remain untraced.

On October 15, the total stood at 4,854, indicating an increase of 487 cases. Missing girls rose from 3,509 to 3,872, while missing boys increased from 1,345 to 1,469, the official figures claimed.

The biggest increase, however, was among adults.

The number of missing adults (above 18) climbed to 16,295 by November 15, comprising 9,245 women (57 per cent) and 7,050 men (43 per cent). Police traced 8,782 adults, and 7,513 remain untraced. Delhi recorded 1,909 new missing-person cases in 30 days, mostly women and girls. By mid-November, 12,521 people were traced, while 9,070 remain missing. A decade saw 2.53 lakh cases. with agency inputs