Delhi: Over 60 went missing each day, including 16 children: Data

The National Human Rights Commission on Monday issued notice to the Delhi government, Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Police seeking a detailed report on missing person complaints registered this year.

The commission’s action came in response to recently released missing persons figures that showed more than 800 people went missing in the national capital in the first 15 days of January this year.

While the Delhi Police last Thursday stated that there was “no need for panic or fear” as the figures actually reflected a decline compared to the same period in previous years, the NHRC observed that if these reports were true, serious issues of human rights violations were raised.

As the latest figures grab headlines, data point to a deeper crisis in the national capital: the growing number of missing and unrescued people now rivals those of the country’s largest states.

On average, Delhi accounted for almost 8% of all missing persons cases in the country between 2017-2023. As for missing child cases, Delhi accounted for 10% of all such cases in the country at that time.

According to data in NCRB, more than 20,000 people (including close to 6,000 children) were reported missing in Delhi every year except 2020 during 2017-2023. This means that during the period 2017-2023, an average of 62 people (including 16 children) were reported missing every day.

While Delhi Police attributes the high volume of cases to better reporting compared to other cities, the sheer size of the numbers cannot be explained by reporting efficiency alone.

A state-wise analysis reveals that Delhi has consistently ranked among the top five States and Union Territories in reported missing child cases during the period 2017-2023. Notably, the other states on this list (West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan) are significantly larger in both geography and population.

However, the capital’s recovery rate remains a cause for concern and lags far behind states like Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in the share of children successfully monitored each year. This disparity underscores the growing backlog: A significant proportion of children reported missing in previous years have not been found.

A similar analysis of missing persons cases reveals that Delhi consistently ranks among the top seven States and Union Territories. It is noteworthy that the list is dominated by much larger states such as Maharashtra, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Similar to trends seen in missing child cases, the capital ranked significantly lower than these larger States in terms of percentage recovery, defined as the share of people traced out of the total reported missing cases.

An analysis by gender reveals a striking disparity; A disproportionate share of missing persons in Delhi are women and girls. In fact, for every two men or boys reported missing, there were roughly three reports for women and girls; This represents a number that is 1.5 times higher.

Between 2017 and 2023, an average of 13,000 missing women and 4,000 missing girls were seen in the capital annually. In comparison, reports for men and boys were lower, averaging 9,750 and 1,970 cases per year, respectively.