Why most ‘kidnapping’ cases in Maharashtra are actually runaways and missing children
NCRB data shows 95% of minors in Maharashtra's 2024 kidnapping FIRs were teenagers, and nearly two-thirds of victims found alive were classified as "deemed kidnapped" — missing children, runaways, or elopements logged as abductions under a Supreme Court order.
Of the 13,299 kidnapping cases involving minors in the state, 7,165 — nearly 54% — involved those aged 16 to 18. A further 5,405 cases involved children between 12 and 16. Only 106 cases involved children below 6 years of age. Nearly 95% of minors named in kidnapping and abduction FIRs in Maharashtra in 2024 were teenagers between 12 and 18 years old, according to National Crime Records Bureau data. The numbers, striking at first glance, reflect a legal reality: under a Supreme Court order, every missing minor must be registered as a kidnapping case.
Of the 13,299 kidnapping cases involving minors in the state, 7,165 — nearly 54% — involved those aged 16 to 18. A further 5,405 cases involved children between 12 and 16. Only 106 cases involved children below 6 years of age.
The national picture tells a similar story. Of the 85,473 victims found alive across the country in 2024, nearly 64% were classified as “deemed kidnapped,” meaning they couldn’t be traced when the complaint was first registered. Of these, 36,106 were missing children who were eventually found, 9,663 involved elopements or love relationships, and 9,318 had left home on their own or after a fight with parents.
The Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in the Bachpan Bachao Andolan vs Union of India case mandated that all missing minor complaints be registered as kidnapping FIRs. The intent was to ensure every case was taken seriously. In practice, police say it has had an unintended side effect.
“For us the challenge is to identify actual cases where the person has been taken away and treat it seriously,” an officer said. He admitted that because so many cases turn out to be runaways or elopements, even genuine abductions can sometimes fail to get the attention they deserve.
The gap between perception and reality has repeatedly fuelled public panic. In December 2024, messages about kidnappers being on the prowl circulated widely on WhatsApp groups of housing societies after discussions in the state Assembly’s winter session. MNS chief Raj Thackeray had written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis citing NCRB data, pointing out that the number of missing children in Maharashtra rose 30% between 2021 and 2023, and alleging that some children were being forced to beg by interstate gangs.
Mumbai Police moved quickly to counter the panic, posting on X on December 14 that 98% of children reported missing over the previous five years had been reunited with their families.
The distorted perception has had deadly consequences before. In April 2020, two sadhus were lynched in Palghar after being suspected of being child traffickers, a tragedy driven by rumours of toddler kidnappings spreading on social media.
The danger of under-reacting is just as real. In July last year, Rahul Kharwar, a housekeeping worker from Kurla, went missing and his family alleged police dismissed the case, assuming he had left on his own. It was only after the family approached the High Court that a serious investigation began — and six months later, it emerged that Kharwar had allegedly been murdered by a friend for money and his body thrown into the Mithi river.
Share
