Where Are They? Pune Records Over 9,000 Missing Persons in 3 Years

Pune, 3rd May 2025: Nearly 40% of missing person complaints filed annually in Pune since 2022 remain unresolved, despite consistent efforts by the city police to trace individuals. According to officials, while most of the missing are eventually located or return home voluntarily, a significant portion of cases linger without closure.

“We treat unresolved missing person reports as potential homicide cases and continue investigations until we find conclusive answers,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shailesh Balkawade.

Official records show that 3,445 individuals were reported missing in 2022, followed by 3,341 in 2023 and 3,205 in 2024. While police were able to trace 2,875 people in 2022, only 2,611 and 2,000 were found in the subsequent years, respectively. The declining recovery rate has raised concern among law enforcement agencies and public safety groups.

One such case occurred on March 26, 2023, when the 73-year-old father of a local cricketer went missing from his home. Reported at the Alankar police station, the elderly man, who suffers from dementia, was later found wandering in the Mundhwa area—highlighting how health conditions often contribute to such disappearances.

Among the more sensitive cases are those involving minors. On average, Pune police receive around 600 missing children complaints each year. The numbers include 662 minors in 2022, a jump to 731 in 2023, and a slight drop to 630 in 2024.

“In line with Supreme Court directions, we register kidnapping FIRs for missing children immediately and launch full-scale search operations,” said Balkawade. “Most children are traced, but it’s particularly challenging when teenage girls elope. They often switch off their phones and avoid contact until they reach legal age,” he added.

To address this, the police have launched child-friendly outreach initiatives in schools, including anonymous complaint boxes and regular counseling sessions through their ‘Police Kaka’ and ‘Police Kaku’ programmes. “Academic pressure is one of the major reasons why many children leave home. They feel misunderstood or unloved and sometimes act out emotionally,” Balkawade explained.

The aspirations of adolescents are also playing a role. Officers have found that some children, influenced by television or online content, venture into cities like Mumbai in search of excitement or independence. “By the time they come back, their families have already reported them missing,” an officer said.

In April this year, the Bibvewadi police handled a case where an eight-year-old girl went missing while playing outside her home. CCTV footage helped officers locate her sitting quietly near Yashraj Garden within the same locality. In another case, a 12-year-old from Donje left home after an argument with her mother. She was later found safe in Ranjangaon by a police team.

Shivabhau Pasalkar, president of the Maharashtra Rajya Missing Group, noted that reasons behind disappearances vary widely by age. “Children mostly leave due to emotional distress—issues with friends, school stress, or parental misunderstandings. Teenagers might elope or mimic what they see in shows and films. Thankfully, mobile phone tracking helps locate most of them,” he said.

Adults between 25 and 50 years of age form another concerning group. “Many of them vanish due to financial crises. Some are debt-ridden, while others flee after defrauding people. They deliberately discard phones and gadgets to avoid being traced,” Pasalkar added.

The elderly go missing for entirely different reasons—often due to memory-related illnesses, neglect, or abandonment. “In some heartbreaking cases, families leave them at remote locations and file fake missing reports,” he revealed.

Pasalkar said that individuals often return home after calming down or feeling remorseful. “Emotional reconciliation is a powerful motivator for many to come back.”

As part of renewed efforts, Balkawade said the police are now reviewing all unresolved cases. “We are contacting every family to verify if their missing loved ones have returned or if further investigation is required,” he said.