More than 890 women and young girls missing from Pune in the past 7 months

Out of this only 396 people have been successfully traced

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Pune (Maharashtra) – According to the Police, in the last 7 months of 2022, an estimated 840 women and girls went missing, out of which 396 have been found. The highest number of women missing was 186 in June followed by 135 women in May. In the last 7 months around 743 complaints were received of women missing in the rural areas of Pune. Now the Police have started searching for these women under the ‘Muskan Yojana’. (Why was the scheme not named in Marathi? – Editor)

In this regard, an activist for women and children Yamini Adabe said, although there could be many reasons behind the disappearance of women, the matter of human trafficking cannot be ruled out. In cases where women go missing due to love affairs or family disputes, they are almost always in contact with some member of the family or a friend; but this sudden increasing trend of women becoming untraceable is a serious situation for all. (How many women and girls are currently untraceable? This accurate data should be revealed! – Editor)

Regarding this incident, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Legislative Council Deputy Speaker Neelam Gorhe said, I have been pursuing these cases for the past 2 years and had met former Home Minister Dilip Valse-Patil regarding this issue. Currently, there has been a decrease in the number of incidents of rape, but at the same time, there has been an increase in the number of cases where women have gone missing due to domestic violence. After rescuing the women the Police should also provide counselling. Hence we have decided to start an awareness campaign about these missing women through our ‘Stri Aadhaar Kendra’. If the Police publish the photographs of the dead unidentified women, then there is a possibility of informing their parents about their deaths. The Special Inspector General of Police (Kolhapur Zone) Manoj Lohia is currently discussing this issue and is sure about getting a positive result.

Police Inspector for Pune Anna Mane of the Social Security Department said that there may be many reasons behind the disappearance of women like family disputes, extra-marital affairs, getting lured by a lover with the promise of marriage etc. But according to the Police, the chances of a woman being abducted are very low.

Editorial viewpoints

• Such a large disappearance of women and young girls from certain districts is certainly alarming! The Government should conduct a thorough investigation, show the truth to the public and put the culprits in jail !
• The number of ‘Love Jihad’ cases out of these disappearances should also be disclosed to the public !