Over 13 lakh girls and women reported missing in India between 2019 and 2021: home ministry
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New Delhi: Over 13.13 lakh girls and women went missing in India between 2019 and 2021, revealed newly released data from the Union Home Ministry.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiled the data, which was tabled in Parliament last week. The figures are deeply concerning, raising serious questions about the safety and security of women in the country.
According to the data, 10,61,648 women above the age of 18 and 2,51,430 girls below that age were reported missing during the three years across the country. Among the states, Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of missing females, with 1,60,180 women and 38,234 girls going missing. West Bengal followed closely with 1,56,905 women and 36,606 girls reported missing, while Maharashtra recorded 1,78,400 women and 13,033 girls missing, reported PTI.
The figures also indicate that Odisha reported 70,222 missing women and 16,649 missing girls, while Chhattisgarh had 49,116 missing women and 10,817 missing girls during the three years.
Among the Union Territories, Delhi recorded the highest number of missing females, with 61,054 women and 22,919 girls reported missing. In Jammu and Kashmir, 8,617 women and 1,148 girls were reported missing in the same period.
In response to the alarming numbers and to address the safety concerns of women, the government has taken several initiatives. These include enacting The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, of 2013, to enhance deterrence against sexual offenses, and The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, of 2018, which imposes stringent penalties, including the death penalty, for the rape of girls below the age of 12 years.
The Act also mandates the completion of investigations and filing of charge sheets in rape cases within two months, with trials to be completed in another two months.
To improve emergency response, the government has launched the Emergency Response Support System, which provides a single internationally recognised number (112) for all emergencies and facilitates the dispatch of resources to distressed locations. Safe City Projects have been sanctioned in eight major cities to aid smart policing and safety management.
The government has also focused on addressing cybercrime and sexual offenses through initiatives such as the cybercrime reporting portal and the National Database on Sexual Offenders, both launched in 2018. These efforts aim to facilitate the tracking and investigation of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies.
