The fact that more than 2,000 missing people never return home every year means that each day around six Mumbaikars are lost to their families and friends forever. An overwhelming majority — about two-thirds — of those who go missing in the metropolis are adults. These figures by government officials are alarming. The Missing Persons Bureau of the Mumbai Crime Branch receives five to six complaints, on an average, thrice a week.

Strained relations at home, poor performance in exams, love affairs, and unemployment are among the major reasons behind a rise in the number of people running away. The Delhi Police recently launched its face recognition software, which has helped in tracing missing kids. However, many states, including Maharashtra, are yet to come up with a mechanism under which parents of missing children are regularly updated about the status of their complaint, as directed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The NCPCR had issued a notification a couple of years ago, asking all state DGPs to come up with such a mechanism.