New Delhi: The number of people who are reported missing in the city has remained more or less constant in nearly a decade, according to data released by Delhi Police on Wednesday.Since 2016, the figure has hovered around 23,000 to 24,000 a year, showing no drastic surge, despite the city’s rapid population expansion and increasing urban density. In a departure from this established pattern, the start of 2026 has witnessed a dip in monthly numbers. While the historical data typically averages out to roughly 2,000 people reported missing every month, this Jan has bucked the trend with only 1,777 cases.Since 2016, Delhi Police has traced 180,805 people and reunited them with their families — a cumulative recovery rate of around 77%. This means that in nearly eight out of every 10 people reported missing, the city’s recovery apparatus, comprising local police stations, anti-human trafficking units and community networks, successfully closes the cases.“While any disappearance is a concern, this lack of an upward trajectory indicates that the challenge, though persistent, has not spiralled out of control,” said Devesh Srivastava, special CP (crime).Police attributed this to initiatives like ‘Operation Milap’, which focuses specifically on rescuing and rehabilitating missing children and adults. The data also reflects a positive evolution in the tools Delhi uses to safeguard its people, signalling a shift toward more sophisticated, technology-driven policing. High-accuracy automated facial recognition software and artificial intelligence are aiding the police force in the search for missing persons. Delhi Police’s Asadharan Karya Puraskar given to cops who trace a large number of missing children has also yielded good results. Once such a case is reported, police teams start visiting shelter homes, bus stands and other states to trace people based on available leads, joint CP (crime) Surendra Kumar said. However, the data also shows that despite posting consistently credible numbers, the efficiency of recovery operations needs more attention. The ‘yet to be traced’ category for females has more than tripled from 1,606 in 2016 to 5,576 in 2025. Last year, around 15,421 out of 24,508 missing people were traced, putting the figure of untraced ones to 9,087. Police said in many cases, the return of individuals who willingly leave their houses or elope is not reported or reported very late. In the case of elopement of minors, there have been multiple cases where their return is reported only after they turn 18, for fear of prosecution. The year 2020 stands out in the dataset, with the number of those missing dropping to 17,944 — the lowest in a decade — owing to pandemic-triggered lockdowns.
