Over 800 go missing in Delhi in 15 days, 54 cases reported daily: Women, girls dominate the numbers

In just the first two weeks of 2026, Delhi has already reported more than 800 missing persons, a pace of over 50 cases a day, according to PTI. Official Delhi Police data accessed by the new agency shows women and girls account for nearly two-thirds of the missing, raising fresh concerns over how often the capital loses track of its residents, especially its youngest.

Between January 1 and 15, a total of 807 people were reported missing in the city, with an average of 54 cases per day. Of them, 509 were women and girls, while 298 were men. The dataset also shows that 191 of the missing were minors, with 616 adults reported missing during the same period.

Even as police have traced 235 people, around 572 remain untraced, according to the data.

Minors: Teenagers form the largest chunk

The police data suggests children went missing at a steady rate through the first half of January, with an average of 13 minors disappearing every day. Girls made up 146 of the 191 missing minors.

Teenagers formed the largest share within this category. Among the missing minors, 169 were adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, including 138 teenage girls and 31 boys. While police traced 29 girls and 19 boys, nearly 71 per cent of adolescents, 121 cases, remain untraced.

In the 8 to 12 age group, 13 children went missing, eight boys and five girls, with only three boys found. In the under-eight category, nine children were reported missing; three boys were traced, while six children remain untraced.

Adults still dominate missing person cases

Adults continued to form the bulk of missing persons in the city. The first 15 days of January recorded 616 missing adults: 363 women and 253 men. Police traced 90 men and 91 women, but 435 adults remain unaccounted for, the data showed.

2025 numbers: Over 24,000 missing, more than 9,000 still unresolved

The early 2026 figures mirror a wider pattern seen in the previous year. In 2025, Delhi reported 24,508 missing persons. Women made up over 60 per cent of the cases at 14,870, while men accounted for 9,638 cases.

Police traced 15,421 individuals, but 9,087 cases remain unresolved, according to the data.

A decade-long rise, with teenagers at growing risk

A decadal analysis of Delhi Police records from 2016 to 2026 highlights a steady rise in missing person cases over the years. Over the past decade, 2,32,737 people were reported missing in Delhi. Around 1.8 lakh people were traced, but nearly 52,000 cases remain unresolved.

In 2025 alone, 5,081 teenagers were reported missing, including 3,970 girls, and 1,013 of them have not been found.

The trend has continued to rise year after year, with 2025 marking the highest number of missing women cases at 14,870.

(With inputs from PTI)