Delhi's Silent Emergency: 23,340 Missing in 2025—Where is the Government?

Over 8,900 Still Untraced, Women and Girls Comprise 61%, Yet No Press Conference, No Action Plan

In what can only be described as a humanitarian crisis unfolding in plain sight, 23,340 people were reported missing in Delhi by December 15, 2025, with women accounting for a staggering 61 per cent of cases. Yet, as families desperately search for their loved ones, the Delhi government and police machinery remain eerily silent on concrete action plans. The question demands to be asked: How many more people must vanish before the government treats this as the emergency it is? The data paints a disturbing picture of Delhi's safety landscape. Between January and mid-December 2025, an average of 64 people went missing every single day in the national capital. To put this in perspective, in just the 20-day period between mid-October and mid-November, 1,909 new missing person cases were reported, averaging 95 people per day during that period alone. Even more alarming, 8,955 people remained untraced by December 15, including 5,494 women representing 61 per cent of the missing. Among children, the situation is particularly dire: 1,277 girls aged 12-18 years remain untraced, the most vulnerable demographic in this crisis. The crisis isn't new, with it's been festering for years. Between 2015 and 2025, approximately 2.5 lakh people were reported missing in Delhi, of which nearly 54,000 cases remain unresolved. That's 54,000 families still waiting, still hoping, still demanding answers. Women have consistently borne the brunt of this crisis. Over the past decade, 56 per cent of all missing persons have been women, a pattern that has remained stubbornly unchanged year after year. In 2022, women accounted for 58 per cent of missing persons. In 2023, it was 58 per cent again. In 2025, it climbed to 61 per cent. The gender disparity among children is even more stark. Of 5,717 missing children reported in 2025, 4,146 were girls,s accounting for 73 per cent. Among teenagers aged 12-18, girls comprised 78 per cent of missing cases. What do these numbers mean on a daily basis? Every day in 2025, 64 people were reported missing in Delhi. During peak periods between October and November, this number shot up to 95 people per day. As of December 15, 8,955 people remain untraced, with 5,494 of them being women. Among the most vulnerable, 1,277 girls between the ages of 12 and 18 are still missing. In the time it takes to read this article, statistically, two more people will be reported missing in Delhi. Here's what's conspicuously absent from the public record: no Chief Minister press conference, no comprehensive action plan, no parliamentary discussion, and no public safety advisory. Despite 23,340 missing persons cases in 2025, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who assumed office in February 2025, has not held a single press conference specifically addressing this crisis. While her government has issued statements on pollution, infrastructure, and welfare schemes, the missing persons epidemic has received no special attention from the Chief Minister's office. Neither the Delhi government nor the police department has announced any new comprehensive strategy to tackle the rising numbers. The existing measures, Operation Milap, ZIPNET database, and the Anti-Human Trafficking Units, have been operational for years, yet the numbers keep climbing. The issue has not been raised as a priority matter in the Delhi Legislative Assembly despite the alarming statistics, and the government has issued no specific advisories to citizens, particularly women and families with teenage daughters, about the crisis or preventive measures.

To be fair, Delhi Police has shown some operational competence. Of the 23,340 missing persons, 14,385 were traced a recovery rate of 61.6 percent. In 2025, South-West District alone traced 1,303 missing people, including 434 minors. Police have also conducted targeted operations. Operation Milap helped trace 931 missing persons in a specific period, including 306 children. The Anti-Human Trafficking Units have conducted raids, rescuing 73 children from jute and toy factories in August raids alone. But here's the critical question: If the police can trace 61 percent of cases, why are 39 percent still missing? What happens to those 8,955 people? Where is the accountability for the failures? Behind these statistics lies a darker reality: human trafficking. A 13-year-old girl who went missing in July was trafficked to Uttar Pradesh, forcibly married for money, and raped. This is not an isolated case. In 2024, 1,350 children remained untraced despite police efforts. The rate of untraced missing children cases climbed to 23.09 percent by 2024, up from 7 percent in earlier years. These aren't just statistics these are children trapped in exploitation, forced labor, or worse. A senior police official admitted that many cases are passed en masse to Anti-Human Trafficking Units after almost three months, by which time most evidence is already missing. This is procedural negligence at best, systematic failure at worst.The geographic pattern reveals disturbing disparities. The Outer North district reported 908 untraced cases, the highest among all districts. The North East district had 730 untraced cases, followed by the South West with 717. Meanwhile, the New Delhi district, comprising high-security areas like Parliament Street and Chanakyapuri, recorded only 85 untraced cases. The disparity is glaring: high-security VIP areas see minimal missing persons, while working-class neighbourhoods bear the brunt. Is this a law and order issue or a class issue? What should the government be doing that it isn't? First, establish a dedicated, high-level emergency task force with representatives from police, women and child development, and NGOs, with weekly public reporting requirements. Second, create a centralised 24-hour missing persons war room with real-time tracking, CCTV integration, and immediate alert systems. Third, table a comprehensive bill addressing systemic gaps in missing persons protocols, including mandatory timelines for police action. Fourth, launch aggressive public awareness campaigns in schools, colleges, and communities about safety, reporting mechanisms, and trafficking red flags. Fifth, implement AI-powered facial recognition at metro stations, bus terminals, and railway stations to track missing persons in real-time. Sixth, publish monthly district-wise data with police accountability metrics for traced versus untraced cases. Seventh, and most crucially, the Chief Minister must host a public press conference outlining the government's response, allocate a special budget, and set quantifiable targets for case resolution.

The hard questions demand answers. To Chief Minister Rekha Gupta: You took office in February 2025, promising "welfare, empowerment, and development of every citizen." How does 23,340 missing persons in your first year align with that promise? When will you address this crisis publicly? To Delhi Police: You've traced 61 per cent of cases commendable. But what about the 39 per cent you haven't? What systematic failures allow 8,955 people to remain missing? What is your plan to reduce this number? To the Delhi Government: You've announced schemes for free electricity, health services, and LPG connections. But what about a missing persons safety scheme? What about a dedicated budget for tracking and rescue operations? To civil society: Why isn't this crisis trending on social media? Why aren't there daily protests outside police headquarters? Why has Delhi normalised the disappearance of 64 people per day? Behind every statistic is a devastated family. A mother who doesn't know if her teenage daughter is alive. A father searched CCTV footage for months. Siblings who've stopped celebrating birthdays. Grandparents who die without closure. In just the first two months of 2025, 768 children were reported missing, with 610 of them being girls. Only 329 were found, while 439 remain untraced. These 439 children had names, dreams, and families who loved them. Where are they now?

The data is clear. The pattern is established. The crisis is undeniable. What's missing is political will, bureaucratic urgency, and public outrage. Delhi cannot claim to be a world-class capital while averaging 64 disappearances per day. It cannot promise women's safety while 61 per cent of missing persons are women and girls. It cannot speak of children's welfare while 1,277 teenage girls remain untraced. The question is no longer whether Delhi has a missing persons crisis; it clearly does. The question now is: How long will the government pretend it doesn't? The numbers tell a story that cannot be ignored. In 2025 alone, 23,340 people were reported missing in Delhi, with 14,166 of them being women, 61 per cent of all cases. Men accounted for 9,174 missing persons, or 39 per cent. While 14,385 people were traced, representing a 61.6 per cent success rate, 8,955 people remain untraced, which is 38.4 per cent of all cases. Among those still missing, 5,494 are women, accounting for 61.3 per cent of the untraced. Children represented 24.5 per cent of all missing persons, with 5,717 cases reported. Among missing children, girls accounted for an overwhelming 73 per cent, with 4,146 cases. Most troubling is that 1,277 girls between the ages of 12 and 18 remain untraced. Looking at the decade between 2015 and 2025, approximately 2.5 lakh people were reported missing, with 54,000 cases remaining unresolved, a staggering 21.6 per cent of the total. The district-wise breakdown reveals which areas are most affected. Outer North leads with 908 untraced cases, followed by North East with 730 untraced cases, South West with 717, South East with 689, and Outer district with 675 untraced cases. In stark contrast, the New Delhi district recorded the lowest number with just 85 untraced cases. The disparity between working-class neighbourhoods and elite areas raises serious questions about resource allocation, police priority, and whether safety in Delhi is determined by one's postal code. The numbers don't lie. But do our leaders care? This report is based on official Delhi Police data released in December 2025 and information from the Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNET). The government has been contacted for comment, but no official response has been received at the time of publication. Every day that passes without action is another day families spend in anguish, another day missing persons remain in danger, another day the government's silence screams louder than any press conference ever could. Delhi's missing persons crisis is not a statistic to be filed away in some bureaucratic drawer. It is a living, breathing emergency that demands immediate, visible, and aggressive intervention from the highest levels of government. The question remains: Will they act, or will they wait for the numbers to climb even higher?

SOURCE

This report is based on official Delhi Police data released in December 2025 and information from the Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNET). The government has been contacted for comment, but no official response has been received at the time of publication.

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