Maharashtra Missing Women Data: 93,940 Women Reported Missing in Two Years, Recovery Rate Above 71%, Reveals Assembly Data

The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has revealed shocking figures regarding missing women in the state. According to official data presented in the House, a total of 93,940 women have gone missing in Maharashtra over the last two years.

While the government claims that the recovery rate has improved significantly, the opposition has raised serious concerns about women’s safety across the state.

The data was presented by the Home Department led by Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis during the ongoing assembly session.

The figures cover the years 2024 and 2025 and highlight both the scale of the issue and the efforts made by law enforcement agencies to trace missing individuals.

According to the government, out of the total 93,940 missing women reported during the two-year period, police were able to trace 67,458 women. This translates to a recovery rate of approximately 71.8 percent.

If the year-wise data is examined, the situation shows both improvement and concern. In 2024, a total of 45,662 women were reported missing across Maharashtra. Out of these, police managed to trace 30,877 women, resulting in a recovery rate of around 67.6 percent.

In 2025, the number of missing women increased to 48,278. However, authorities were able to locate 36,581 women, pushing the recovery rate to approximately 75.7 percent.

This suggests that while the number of cases has risen, the efficiency of police investigations and tracking mechanisms has also improved.

Cases involving minor girls have also raised concerns. In 2024, 11,313 minor girls were reported missing, out of which 8,475 were traced by police. In 2025, 12,113 minor girls went missing, and 10,295 were successfully recovered.

Overall, during the two-year period, 23,429 minor girls were reported missing in Maharashtra, and 18,770 of them were traced by authorities.

Major urban regions such as Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Raigad, Nagpur, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar also reported cases of missing children. Between 2024 and 2025, a total of 4,989 children in the age group of 15 to 18 years went missing from these areas. Authorities were able to trace 4,813 of them, reflecting a recovery rate of nearly 96 percent.

The Home Department also informed the Assembly about the ongoing efforts under Operation Muskaan, a nationwide initiative aimed at tracing missing children. Between July 2015 and December 2024, a total of 13 phases of Operation Muskaan were conducted in Maharashtra, during which 41,193 minor children were traced.

Currently, the 14th phase of Operation Muskaan is underway. As of February 16, authorities have already traced 1,401 missing minors under this operation.

The Maharashtra government maintains that serious efforts are being made to tackle cases of missing women and children. Officials claim that police infrastructure has been strengthened with better technology, improved coordination between departments, and special search operations.

However, the opposition has strongly criticized the situation, arguing that the data itself reflects serious gaps in women’s safety across the state. Opposition leaders have demanded stronger policies, improved ground-level policing, and stricter measures to prevent such incidents.

With Maharashtra rapidly urbanizing and expanding economically, the issue of missing women and children has become more than just a law-and-order challenge. Experts believe it also raises questions about social security, migration patterns, trafficking risks, and the safety environment in growing urban areas.

The key question now is whether the rising recovery rate will translate into stronger safety mechanisms for women and children, or if these numbers will continue to trigger political and social debate in the coming years.

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