According to government data provided by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Karnataka are the top three states that have witnessed the highest number of missing girls in the past five years. Between January 2018 and June 2023, a total of 2,75,125 children went missing, out of which 2,12,825 were girls, while 62,237 were boys.
Madhya Pradesh leads in both the overall number of missing children and missing girls, with 49,024 girls among the 61,102 missing children. West Bengal follows with 49,129 missing children, including 41,808 girls, and Karnataka with 27,528 missing children, including 18,893 girls. Gujarat, Delhi, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh are among the states with a significant number of missing girls.
Out of the 2,75,125 missing children, 240,502 were eventually found, with 1,73,786 being girls and 66,638 being boys. Interestingly, Lakshadweep and Mizoram reported no cases of missing children, and northeastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland had only one case each.
According to Prof Shanta Sinha, former head of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, there is a lack of sufficient focus on protecting girls in the country despite the government’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign. She emphasizes the need for continuous efforts to raise awareness and strengthen the child care protection system.
In response to the issue, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani mentioned the development of the ‘TrackChild Portal,’ which facilitates tracking of missing and found children.
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