Nearly half of city residents reported missing every year are aged 16 years to 25 years, the Mumbai Police has said in its reply to an RTI query.
Also, an annual rise in the number of people going missing has been observed, ACP (Preventive) Bharat Gaikwad said in response to an application filed by RTI activist Chetan Kothari.
In all, 32,598 people were reported missing from Mumbai in 2014, 2015 and 2016, while 27,565 of them were later found, the police said.
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The number of missing people also went up every year, with 10,916 reported missing in 2014, 10,313 in 2015 and 11,369 in 2016, the reply said.
A year-wise tabulation of figures showed nearly 50% of people reported missing in these three years were aged 16 years to 25 years, followed by those falling in the age bracket of 26 years to 40 years. Vijay Vaidya, a former journalist and social activist who helps in tracing missing persons, said this is a sensitive age group when people have lot of aspirations in life and take decisions emotionally.
He added, “Most girls and boys run away from home fearing poor exam results. A large number of youngsters have aspirations, like acting, or do something bigger in life. This is a very sensitive age group where people take decisions emotionally.”
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Fewer being found
Data provided by the police also showed that while the number of missing people is on the rise, fewer missing are being traced. Close to 10,605 people (97% of total missing) were found in 2014, 9,375 (90%) in 2015 and 7,585 (66%) in 2016.
Also, more women (16,533) were reported missing in these three years, compared to men (16,065). Of the total missing, 34 were found dead in 2014, 45 in 2015 and 38 in 2016, the reply said.
The Mumbai Police’s centralised branch, called the Missing Persons Bureau, deals with such cases irrespective of from where in the country the person went missing.