1.08 lakh missing persons cases in UP, Delhi records 807 cases in Jan

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the alarming number of missing persons in Uttar Pradesh and registered a PIL, noting that over 1.08 lakh people went missing in the past two years while police action was initiated in only about 9,700 cases. Expressing serious concern, the court described the figures as “shocking”. "We are aghast at the attitude of the authorities in addressing the complaints pertaining to missing persons, which obviously requires a sense of urgency," the bench said.
On the other hand, 807 people were reported missing in Delhi during the first 27 days of 2026, according to Delhi Police data, raising fresh concerns over the scale of missing persons cases in the national capital. Police were able to trace 235 individuals, while 572 remain untraced. The data shows that, on average, around 27 people went missing every day during this period, even as about nine people were traced daily. Among these untraced minors, 120 are girls. Of the 191 missing minors reported in the first 27 days of the year, only 48 children were traced,leaving 137 children still missing. Among adults, 616 people were reported missing. Police traced 181 of them, including 90 men and 91 women, while 435 adults are still unaccounted for.
According to the affidavit submitted in the high court, between January 1, 2024 and January 18, 2026, around 1,08,300 missing person complaints were registered in the state, but action to trace the missing persons was taken in only around 9,700 cases. No action had been initiated in the remaining cases. A division bench of Justices Abdul Moin and Babita Rani made the observations while hearing a criminal writ petition filed by Vikrama Prasad, who alleged that his son went missing in July 2024 and that police showed no interest in tracing him. The bench sought a detailed affidavit from the additional chief secretary (home) during the hearing. Taking note of the data, the court expressed anguish over the “lethargic attitude" of the police and, considering the issue to be of wider public importance, directed the court registry to register the matter as a PIL titled “In re: Missing Persons in the State".