Raj Thackeray criticises CM Fadnavis over rise in child abduction cases in Maharashtra

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday, December 13, 2025, expressed concern over increasing cases of missing children and kidnappings in Maharashtra, highlighting that “inter-state gangs are systematically targeting minor children” across the state.

Mr. Thackeray wrote a letter addressed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in which he criticized the Mahayuti-led government for neglecting critical issues related to public safety and instead approving huge budgets during the winter legislative session in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district.

Criticizing the government for not taking any action against the gang, Mr Thackeray said: “Why is there no clear strategy to prevent such crimes?” he asked. He also suggested prioritizing discussion of child abduction, missing girls and other public safety issues in the legislature and, if necessary, conducting DNA testing to identify children seen begging in public places.

Responding to this, Mr. Fadnavis said, “I have already given statistics on disappearance of boys or girls and their reasons. I have also mentioned the numbers of children returning.” However, Mr. Fadnaivis did not read Mr. Thackeray’s letter saying, “If he has doubts, I will definitely answer them.”

“The important thing is that we file a missing complaint even if a girl leaves home due to a fight and returns three days later. That’s why we see so many such complaints. Our estimate is that if we consider a year, we bring back more than 90 percent of them,” he said.

Referring to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Thackeray stated that there was an increase of nearly 30 percent in child abduction cases between 2021 and 2024, and pointed out that most of the children were forced to work and begged on the streets. He asked about the trauma experienced in the minds of young people at that time, how child abducting gangs were allowed to operate, and how they continued their activities so bravely and fearlessly.

Home Minister Yogesh Kadam also reiterated that we observed that more than 90 percent of the children returned and said, “A few children left on their own or for another reason. However, this does not mean that we are not looking for the remaining 10 percent of the children. We are running a special campaign to find them.”