The city police on Wednesday said 5,894 individuals from all age groups went missing in Mumbai in the six months between November 2014 and May 2015.
Out of the total missing cases registered, 17.5% (1,033 cases) involved minor boys and girls. Most of those who had disappeared were between 14 and 18 years.
The maximum number of cases — 29% — was filed in the eastern suburbs (1,717 cases) during the period. It topped the missing count in all four categories: minor boys and girls, and men and women. The north region came after east in number of cases and was followed by central, west and south regions.
During investigations, sleuths found that most cases of disappearing teens turned out to be elopements or running away from home due to study pressure. Adults seemed to be going missing due to domestic issues or unemployment.
Gender-wise, girls (615 against 418 missing boys) and women (2,438 against 2,423 men) topped the list. Surprisingly, in the six months the Mumbai police report shows that they traced more minor girls (621) than were lost (615).
"We have managed to track down 75-80% of the total missing persons during the period. The overall tracking percentage shown is 90-100% which includes tracing of missing persons during the mentioned period and those who went missing earlier," said Mumbai police spokesperson DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni.
Most cases involving minors are those of running away from home and not kidnapping, he added.
Police officials revealed a major problem they face in missing cases is parents insisting on a kidnap case. "Though we know that most missing children have run away over some small issue or the other, we are forced to register an FIR. In a case of kidnap, a separate investigation team has to be formed. The force, already short-staffed, is assigned to a probe though most children run away and are not kidnapped," said a police officer from the central suburbs.
"Many youngsters also leave home because they are depressed or because they have quarrelled with family members," said a senior police officer. "Among older people, many "who suffer from mental ailments wander away."
"Strife in the house, parents' disapproval of teenage love affairs, pressure from parents on studies and quest of career advancement are the major reasons of teens and youths going missing," said IPS officer-turned-lawyer Y P Singh.
Thursday 2 July 2015
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mumbais-eastern-suburbs-account-for-highest-30-missing-adults-minors/articleshow/47903362.cms
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