WHATSAPP GROUPS of housing societies and parents’ groups are buzzing with messages of news reports relating to kidnappers being on the prowl, asking them to be careful. While some housing societies have put up posters in lifts asking parents to be vigilant, police say that they take every missing child case seriously, while incomplete data and Supreme Court ruling on registering all missing cases as kidnapping cases are leading to panic.
News of child kidnappers resurface every few years, sometimes with fatal consequences like the one where two sadhus were killed in Palghar in 2020 on the suspicion of being child-lifters.
In the past few weeks, there has been a revival of the threat of kidnappers, mainly due to messages on social media.
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The series of events began on December 13 when MNS chief Raj Thackeray tweeted to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis citing NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data on missing children’s cases rising by 30 per cent in the past three years.
The issue was discussed in the state Assembly and data was provided. After new stories of some of the data of “kidnapped children” started going viral, it led to panic.
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The Mumbai Police put out a message on their X handle on December 14, clarifying that 98 per cent of the children who were reported missing over the past five years had been reunited with their parents and 2025 was no exception.
“As per Supreme Court judgement in the Bachpan Bachao Andolan vs Union of India, all missing cases of minors are registered as kidnapping cases since 2013,” the tweet said.
An officer said that while intending to ensure that every missing child case is taken seriously, the Supreme Court directed that all missing cases be registered as kidnapping cases, which has led to some panic.
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“Anyone looking at the data would think thousands of children are being kidnapped every month, which is not the case. Kidnapping cases are ones where usually the family receives a ransom call. However, the majority of these cases relate to children running away with friends at times for a day and coming back. Unfortunately, since they are registered as kidnapping, it has led to a wrong impression that kidnappers are on the prowl picking up children,” the officer added.
As per data from Mumbai Police, from January to November 2025, the total cases of missing/kidnapping minor children stand at 2,177, out of which police claimed they have rescued 1,974.
In the past four years, the missing/kidnapping numbers of teenage children have been increasing every year. In 2022, total 1,927 minor children were allegedly kidnapped, while police rescued 1,896.
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In 2023 and 2024, the data showed the missing children were 1,982 and 2,113, out of which police managed to rescue 1,930 and 2,055 respectively, claiming the detection ratio more than 96 per cent in both the years.
An officer said, “What also makes the situation worse is that while the number of cases of ‘kidnapped children’ is mentioned, the data that over 95 per cent of them are returned home does not find a mention, causing an alarm.”
An officer said that after basic inquiry, when they find out that the person is genuinely missing, it is red-flagged and the issue is taken seriously. A recent example is the safe return of a four-year-old girl rescued from Varanasi six months after she was allegedly kidnapped from CSMT railways station. The case was registered at MRA Marg police station, said the official.
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An official said that a major chunk of those who go missing are minors between 14 and 17 years of age who leave home with friends or in some cases due to a relationship, and return within a day or two as they don’t have the money or resources to stay away.
“Parents and school administrations are required to monitor children’s changing behaviour as well as monitor their social media activities,” said a senior officer.
A senior officer, however, added that while in some cases there is a tendency to treat all missing persons cases casually, expecting the minor to return on their own. “Our challenge is to identify the cases where the minor has actually been abducted and deploy efforts to nab them,” the officer added.