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1.8 lakh children reported missing in Delhi over 10 years – 50,000 still untraced
Data shows that the highest number of missing children were reported in 2019 at 18,063 cases.
A railway police team rushed to the spot, and the Crime Team of the East police district and forensic experts were called for inspection.
More than 1.8 lakh children have been reported missing in Delhi in the past decade, of which over 50,000 are yet to be traced, according to data from the Delhi Police.
The figures reveal a persistent and worrying trend; while thousands of missing children are eventually found, nearly one in three cases remains unresolved.
According to the data, from 2015 to 2025, 1.84 lakh children were reported missing across the city, out of which 1.33 lakh were traced, leaving 50,771 still unaccounted for.
Data shows that the highest number of missing children were reported in 2019 (18,063 cases), followed by 2023 (18,197) and 2024 (19,047). The lowest figure came during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, when lockdown restrictions coincided with a sharp decline to 13,647 cases.
Gender-wise, the numbers reveal that more girls went missing than boys every year. Between 2015 and 2025, 98,036 girls were reported missing compared to 86,368 boys. While 70,696 girls have been traced so far, over 27,000 remain missing.
1.8 lakh children reported missing in Delhi over 10 years
A closer look at age groups paints a grim picture of adolescent vulnerability. Children aged between 12 and 18 years accounted for nearly 82% of all missing minors in Delhi. In 2025 alone, 4,167 teenagers — three-fourths of them girls — were reported missing, and only about 69% have been traced so far.
Cases involving younger children, though fewer, show higher recovery rates. Among children aged 0 to 8 years, 5,503 were reported missing over the decade, with 84% traced. The 8-12 age group saw 6,494 cases, with a similar recovery rate of 92%.
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The first 10 months of 2025 have already seen 14,828 cases of missing children, with 7,443 traced so far, leaving 7,385 (nearly 50%) still missing, indicating that the problem persists despite years of interventions and awareness drives.
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