In last three months, as many as 54 women (over18 years) and 22 juveniles, including 18 minor girls, went missing from the district. While police managed to trace out two women out of 54 missing, five minor girls out of 18 were traced.
According to SP Satish Kumar Gajbhiye, most of the missing persons, especially minor girls, fled their houses due to love affairs or poverty. They were lured by middlemen either to get them some engagements or marry them off. He informed that the cases were mostly reported in Bengali dominated coastal pockets of Mahakalpada and Rajanagar blocks.
Whereas in the case of women, the main reason behind their missing is domestic violence and dowry torture, some of the missing women also fled with their paramours after developing illicit extra marital affairs. It has been found that though the family members of several missing minor girls and women know that due to love or extra-marital affairs, they fled from the village, but they filed a missing reportin the local police station to save themselves from police inquiry, informed Gajbhiye.
According to official reports, in 2014 as many as 270 women and a child went missing from the district whereas only 39 women and a child were traced. Similarly, in 2013, as many as 242 women and 100 children had gone missing from the district out of whom only 45 women and 84 children were traced.
Gajbhiye also stated that most of the time the family members of amissing generally come to file a missing report, but when their missing girl or woman returns to their house, they don’t inform the police. The police department while conducting a drive “Smile” knew this, the SP said.