383 Mumbai Women Went Missing In Three Months: Police Data Raises Alarm

The recently released film 'The Kerala Story' not just sparked a series of controversies across the country but also grabbed attention by highlighting the issue of missing women, irrespective of the reasons.

Several recent investigations and police reports, after the involvement of women's commissions across states, have revealed data that's not just disturbing but highly alarming.

Women Missing In Mumbai

Rupali Chakankar, chairperson of the State Women’s Commission (SWC) Maharashtra, addressed a press conference revealing that of a total of 3,594 missing women in the state in the past three months this year, the majority belong to Mumbai. This revelation came after Chakankar had ordered all departments to set this issue as a priority in the state and find out the whereabouts of these missing women.

The missing cases reported are from January to March and showcase the darker side of the prevalent issue at hand, and the strong network of crime that remains to be broken. As per the data, about 3,594 girls and women who have been missing belong to the age group between 16 and 35 years of age.

Shockingly, Mumbai City recorded the highest number of missing cases in the state with 383, followed by 183 cases in the town of Ahmednagar. While Pune Rural has about 156 open cases, Pune City has 148 cases. The chief addressed the press mentioning how women have gone missing these past few months in unimaginable numbers and that it's integral for all stakeholders to come together and solve these issues.

She shared that while some women out of over three thousand have been traced, the lookout for others remains a top concern. She stated that she is in touch with the chairperson of the National Commission for Women in order to devise a solid plan going forward.

Similar missing cases in other states

Maharashtra isn't the only state where matters of missing women have surfaced. Recently, official figures from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) revealed that around 40,000 women had gone missing in Gujarat over a period of five years. While a lot of missing cases were a result of patriarchal barriers leading to women leaving at their own will or eloping, some cases pointed out the rapid increase of crimes against women.

Photo credit: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Suggested reading: Over 39,000 Women Missing In Gujarat Reunited With Families: NCRB Report