More than 93,000 women were reported missing in Maharashtra over the past two years, according to official data. Of these, over 67,000 have been traced and reunited with their families.
In 2025 alone, more than 48,000 women were reported missing, while the figure for 2024 stood at over 45,000. Police efforts led to the tracing of 30,877 women in 2025 and 36,581 in 2024.
These figures were disclosed by the state Home Department while tabling data on missing persons in the State Legislative Assembly recently. The number of minor girls reported missing stood at 11,313 in 2024 and 12,113 in 2025.
As legislators raised the issue in the house, the government stated that Operation Muskan has been conducted 13 times between July 2015 and December 2025. More than 41,000 minors have been traced during these drives. An additional round of Operation Muskan is currently underway, under which 454 boys and 947 girls have been rescued so far.
Operation Muskan is a nationwide initiative aimed at tracing and reuniting missing children with their families. It's part of the Union Home Ministry’s broader programme to address the issue of missing children, with a particular focus on girls.
According to data submitted by the state Home Department, as many as 4,989 boys and girls in the age group of 15–18 went missing last year from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Raigad, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar districts. Of these, 4,813 were traced and reunited with their families by the police, resulting in a recovery rate of 96 per cent.
Overall, the recovery rate for missing women in 2024 and 2025 stands at 71 per cent, while the recovery rate for minor girls during the same period is 80 per cent.
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