23,000 Women And Girls Missing In Madhya Pradesh: Minister To Assembly

Over 23,000 women and minors are currently missing across Madhya Pradesh, revealed the data presented by the government in the state assembly, adding that 1,500 accused linked to rape and other crimes against women are on the run.

The disturbing figures emerged in response to a pointed question raised by senior Congress MLA Bala Bachchan, who had sought detailed district-wise data on the number of missing women and girls, as well as updates on rape and sexual assault cases registered in the state between January 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.

Former home minister Bachchan also demanded to know how many victims have remained missing for more than a month, how many accused have been arrested, and how many are still on the run.

Furthermore, he pressed the government for a timeline on when those on the run will be arrested and whether any action has been taken against negligent officials.

In a written statement to the assembly, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav shared shocking details from official records. As of June 30, 2025, a total of 21175 women and 1954 girls have remained missing for over a year. Combined, this brings the number of missing females in the state to 23129.

What adds an even darker dimension to this crisis is the massive number of accused who remain outside the grasp of law enforcement.

According to the government's own data, 292 men accused of raping women and 283 accused of raping minors are still on the run. This means 575 rape accused are moving freely across the state.

And it does not end there.

In other forms of sexual violence, too, the state has failed to arrest a staggering number of suspects. A total of 443 accused in sexual crimes against women and 167 in similar cases against girls have evaded arrest, bringing the number of those on the run in sexual assault cases to 610. Additionally, there are 320 accused in other cases related to the disappearance of women and girls, with 76 linked to women and 254 to girls, still missing from police radar.

Together, these figures show that more than 1,500 accused involved in serious crimes against women and girls are currently unaccounted for in Madhya Pradesh.

Several districts have emerged as major hotspots for missing women, with over 500 cases each. The highest is Sagar with 1,069 women reported missing, followed by Jabalpur with 946, Indore with 788, Bhopal (rural) with 688, Chhatarpur with 669, Rewa with 653, Dhar with 637, and Gwalior with 617.