Raj Thackeray urges Maharashtra government to act on rising child abductions

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday highlighted the growing menace of child abductions and missing children in the state urging Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take urgent and concrete actionIn a post on X Thackeray said the number of children being abducted or going missing in Maharashtra has risen by nearly 30 per cent between 2021 and 2024 according to National Crime Records Bureau NCRB data He expressed concern over interstate gangs that abduct children force them into labour or make them beg and criticised the governmentrsquos perceived inaction hellipmdash Raj Thackeray RajThackeray December 13 2025ldquoSome cases are registered and official responses often mention children recovered and returned safely Maharashtra does not need such generic answersrdquo Thackeray wrote He questioned how many cases never even reach the police and highlighted the psychological trauma children face even after being rescuedThackeray also raised concerns over children seen begging on streets bus stands and stations urging investigations into whether the adults accompanying them are really their parents and suggesting DNA tests if necessaryThe MNS chief called for legislative discussions on child abductions missing girls and illegal land grabs questioning the effectiveness of the Winter Session if ministers are often absent and critical issues go unaddressedHe added that the central government should coordinate with states to tackle the problem but suggested it is currently distracted by other matters ldquoMaharashtra expects the Chief Minister and Home Minister to pay attention and take concrete steps not just facilitate a discussion in the assemblyrdquo he saidNavi Mumbai reports 499 child kidnappings in 11 months 41 still missingAs many as 499 children were reported kidnapped in Maharashtras Navi Mumbai township between January and November this year and the police managed to trace 458 of them while 41 remain missing officials said on December 3Among the 458 recovered children the reasons for their disappearance indicated more of emotional distress and personal circumstances rather than criminal intent as 128 of the cases were linked to love affairs and 114 to children running away after being scolded by parents they saidBesides 103 children had gone to relatives 63 left for trips and 48 went to a girlfriends house One case each involved mental disability and an accidental death report ADR a police release saidAmong these overall figures 25 cases pertained to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences POCSO Act it saidBetween January 1 and November 29 this year 499 children including 349 girls were reported kidnapped in Navi Mumbai The police traced 458 of them including 315 girls the release saidThe 41 children still missing comprise 34 girls and seven boys it saidThe police registered 483 cases of these child kidnappings and solved 442 of them achieving a detection rate of 9178 per cent as per the dataThe majority of these cases were registered in the Turbhe area 51 followed by Rabale 49 the release added