Runaway hit

A determined police operation across Maharashtra is reuniting missing women and children with their families

- DNYANESH JATHAR

FOUR YEARS AGO, Maharashtra acquired a deeply troubling distinction. The state was listed by the National Crime Records Bureau as the worst affected in the country in terms of missing women and children. In 2022 alone, 66,467 persons were reported missing, including 5,398 children. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis decided to treat the issue as a priority and appointed additional director general of police Aswati Dorje to lead a coordinated operation focused specifically on tracing missing women and children.

In an interaction with THE WEEK, Dorje, daughter of legendary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, said her campaign was part of Operation Muskan, a national initiative to trace missing children. “Since I joined, I made it a point to conduct the operation intensively for at least one month every year and then follow it up regularly. If we find children working in a brick kiln or a roadside dhaba, we immediately check who the child belongs to and whether he or she has been trafficked. Once we locate the family, the child is reunited as per the orders of the Child Welfare Committee,” she said. To make the effort more effective, Dorje has created a network of specialised units across Maharashtra. Today, 49 units deal exclusively with cases of missing women and children. “One officer in every police station is assigned specifically to handle missing cases,” she explained.

According to Dorje, the first 48 hours after a complaint is registered are crucial. Police teams are now trained not only to respond quickly but also to deal with children sensitively once they are traced. “You must understand where the child went and why. If the reason remains unaddressed, there is a strong possibility that the child may go missing again,” she said.