One child goes missing every two days in Panchkula
Panchkula: In the quiet lanes of Panchkula, a troubling pattern has emerged — one child disappears every two days. Behind this statistic lies a growing crisis that's shaking the foundations of child safety in the district.
Last year marked the highest number of missing children in five years, with 180 cases reported. That's a child vanishing every 48 hours. The numbers have steadily climbed from 119 in 2021 to 136 in 2022, and 122 in 2023, culminating in the alarming spike of 2024.
According to official data, 2025 recorded 40 cases of missing minors in just the first quarter (up to March 31). In totality, it means about one child went missing every 2.6 days, on average, across the five-year span of this available data.
While this may suggest a possible decline, experts caution that it's too early to determine whether this represents a true reversal of the surge witnessed in 2024.
Despite the dramatic rise in 2024, recovery efforts kept pace, with 166 children safely recovered by the Panchkula police, the highest in five years. The data was provided under the RTI Act. This figure represents a recovery rate of over 92%, suggesting enhanced coordination between police departments, child protection agencies, and community efforts.
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However, child safety advocates warn that the growing numbers cannot be normalised. "The year-on-year increase, particularly in 2024, signals deeper systemic issues that need to be addressed — from trafficking to family-related disappearances," said one senior child rights official.
Dr Sangeeta Jund, a children's activist who was earlier running a childline in the tricity, commented, "There can be several reasons why children go missing.
Common causes include fear of failure at school, involvement in some incident there, scolding from parents, or being lured away by external influences, maybe drugs. To address such cases, awareness campaigns should be conducted at the school level, and parents need to be more understanding and mindful in their reactions to their children.
"
Panchkula deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Sristhi Gupta, while speaking with TOI, reasoned, "Most of the missing cases involving kids are either of elopement or children running away from their houses after being chided by parents. At our end, we have been recovering the kids." The police said they have a special campaign under the name of "Operation Muskaan" to reunite several missing persons with their families.
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