Delhi’s missing children: trafficking, neglect and poverty fuel a deepening crisis

Delhi’s growing list of missing persons, many of them children, offers a grim glimpse into the city’s underbelly. The first information reports (FIRs) in such cases, many of which involve juveniles, fall under disappearance cases that reflect the growing nexus of child trafficking in the city.

To put matters into perspective, several areas under multiple police districts have been facing a significant rise in the number of missing children. While the efforts continue to curb such instances, the issue remains a constant blight on Delhi, suggesting the presence of trafficking networks.

A closer look at a fairly small area under the jurisdiction of the New Usmanpur police station in North East Delhi provides a good idea of the problem. From January 1, 2025 to October 10, 2025, 15 people were reported missing from the area. However, 11 of those missing were children. While most of the missing juvenile girls are in the age group of 16 to 17, the boys are much younger, with the oldest being around 12 years of age, while the youngest is just over seven.

Rising numbers

The scale of the issue is evident from the fact that there have been a total of around 20,500 missing person cases across the national capital in the said period, according to the Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNET). The highest number of these cases was recorded in the Outer North district (2,500), which was followed closely by the North East district (2,124).

Three police stations in the Outer North district reported similarly high figures — Narela Police Station and Narela Industrial Area Police Station registered 327 and 340 cases, respectively. A similar trend is visible in Bawana, where the police station has registered 304 missing person cases. Most of these disappearances occurred in villages bordering the jurisdictional limits of the police stations — from Pooth Khurd to Bhorgarh — where the situation remains grim, with little hope of tracing the missing minors due to staff shortages and limited follow-up.

Even within these districts, the scenario remains the same. Under the East district, New Ashok Nagar Police Station recorded the highest number of such cases at 179. Among the registered cases, 29 involve minors, most of them girls. These cases have remained unsolved, with the earliest case going back to January 8, when the minor, aged 15, a resident of New Ashok Nagar, was reported missing from his residence.

Another minor girl went missing on January 17, when she was found missing from her residence in Dallupura. Another minor in their late teens disappeared right from their place of residence, leaving no trace behind. The only reminder that remains of her is a photo on the ZIPNET dashboard, as she looks from a screen at a passport-sized photograph from a simpler moment.

Following a similar pattern, the Mayur Vihar police station has reported 162 such incidents.

Through the list, a pattern emerges of the said juveniles going missing from low-income areas such as Jhuggi Jhopri clusters and resettlement colonies. Almost all the missing children in Mayur Vihar hail from Trilokpuri and its surrounding slum clusters, including Indra Camp and Ambedkar Camp, as well as the Chilla Khadar area.

In the North West district, Jahangirpuri tells a similar story — of 153 missing-person cases, 24.1% involve minors. The first case of the year was registered on January 2, when a minor girl went missing from her home. She has been untraced for 10 months.

Why children vanish

Ravi Kant, the national convener for Just Rights for Children Alliance, said Delhi is both a source and destination of child trafficking. “When we talk about Delhi, we also mean the entire National Capital Region. There are multiple instances of trafficking that occur across Delhi, especially for child labour, which essentially accounts for many of the missing children,” he said.

He further added that most of these children are kidnapped and abducted from slum clusters and low-income areas. “It is easier for traffickers to abduct children from poorer households owing to a lack of financial backing that they come from, which essentially permits them to nab them without much fear of repercussions. On the other hand, due to their lack of fiscal strength, they are also not able to pursue legal steps to justice effectively,” he said.

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Children go missing for various reasons. Some are abducted for trafficking, others run away, and some lose their way in crowded places such as railway stations. Delhi remains a focal point for child trafficking, with an estimated 11 million children trafficked across India.

Children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly those aged 6–17, face the most significant risk. Social media has increasingly become a tool for traffickers, who often entice teenagers aged 13–17 with false job offers. Many children run away due to academic pressure, family conflicts, or domestic abuse, which complicates recovery efforts.

Several challenges impede rescue operations. Families often fail to notify the police when a missing child returns. 66% of traced children in 2018 returned to their homes independently. Delays in reporting allow traffickers time to move victims, while missing photographs or inaccurate details significantly hinder investigations.

Kant further highlighted that, owing to the police not treating these issues under the pretext of organised crime, more often than not, the traffickers get off either without any punishment or with fairly light charges. “There exists an entire chain when it comes to child or sex trafficking. Unfortunately, more often than not, these leads are never followed up on, with investigations being limited to the place where the case was registered, without the police following up on the entire chain. This, essentially, leads to a lack of evidence since the organised nature of the crime is never fully revealed,” he said.

He further highlighted that many of these cases also remain without any breakthrough owing to the fact that these are passed en masse to Anti-Human Trafficking Units, which barely have enough manpower to track these children. “As it is, these cases are sent to them after almost three months, which means that most of the evidence would be missing either way,” he said.

Trends over years

In 2024, the Delhi Police managed to locate 4,496 missing children, yet 1,350 remain untraced. In contrast, 5,286 children were found in 2023, while 998 remained missing. This means that despite fewer reported cases in 2024, the proportion of untraced children was higher — a pattern that has been worsening since 2020. The rate of untraced instances, which was earlier 7%, climbed to 23.09% by 2024.

A senior police official explained that the numbers do not always reflect the ground reality. “Even if more children are traced in a particular year, the investigations may have begun much earlier. For instance, if a child went missing in 2024 but was found in 2025, the recovery is still recorded under 2024,” the official said.

Girls most vulnerable

A disturbing trend has persisted for over a decade — girls comprise the majority of missing children in Delhi. In 2024, they comprised 71.82% of all reported cases. Police data indicate that this gender disparity has grown since 2020. Previously, the numbers were nearly equal, although girls consistently outnumbered boys in missing cases.

The increasing number of missing girls also means a higher proportion of untraced cases. Many of these disappearances, police say, are linked to voluntary elopements. “A significant number of these cases involve teenage girls running away with their partners. Most of them are aged between 12 and 18,” a police official stated.

The numbers reinforce this concern — out of the 5,846 missing children in 2024, 5,044 belonged to the 12-18 age group. In comparison, 488 were aged 8-12, and 314 were under 8 years old. In just the first two months of 2025, 768 children were reported missing, with 610 of them being girls. Only 329 of these children were found, while 439 remain untraced. Among the missing girls, 362 are yet to be located.

Infant trafficking racket

Delhi Police arrested 10 individuals, including a doctor, for allegedly trafficking infants unwanted by their parents to childless couples for Rs 1.8 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh using forged adoption papers. On September 8, six children under the age of one were rescued from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The main accused, Sundar, a medical representative, coordinated the illegal sales, while Dr Kamlesh Kumar, who ran KK Hospital in Agra, allegedly delivered and sold the infants. The case surfaced after a six-month-old boy was kidnapped from ISBT Sarai Kale Khan on August 22, 2025. Police used CCTV footage and technical surveillance to apprehend suspects, uncovering an organised trafficking network spanning Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Uttarakhand. Four accused are in judicial custody, while others, including Sundar and Dr Kamlesh, remain in police custody for further questioning. One child was reunited with their parents, and five others are in child care centres awaiting Child Welfare Committee proceedings. The investigation continues to trace more victims and suspects.

NCRB findings

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report for 2023, Delhi faced a dire situation with the number of missing children. A total of 6,284 children were reported missing, increasing the cumulative number of untraced minors to 12,324. Law enforcement agencies recovered 6,972 children during the year. Overall, 24,623 people were reported missing in 2023, according to the NCRB; however, recoveries surpassed this figure, with 29,140 individuals being traced.