807 went missing in Delhi in early January, NHRC seeks report

The data also pointed to the vulnerability of adolescents, with more than 5,000 teenagers reported missing every year since 2016

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday said it has taken suo motu cognisance of recent media reports citing Delhi Police data on missing persons, which indicated that 807 people went missing in the Capital during the first two weeks of January, with only 235 traced so far. The rights body has issued notices to the Delhi chief secretary and the commissioner of police, seeking a report on the matter within two weeks.

NHRC’s action comes amid a public back-and-forth over the interpretation of missing persons data.

In a statement, NHRC referred to media reports published on February 5, which cited police data showing that the 807 missing persons included 191 children and 616 adults. Of these, only 235 had been traced, while 572 remained untraced at the time the data was compiled.

The commission further noted that, according to the data, a total of 24,508 people were reported missing in Delhi in 2025. Of these, around 60% were women. While police managed to trace 15,421 people, 9,087 cases were still unresolved. The data also pointed to the vulnerability of adolescents, with more than 5,000 teenagers reported missing every year since 2016, including approximately 3,500 girls annually.

“The commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights. Therefore, it has issued notices to the chief secretary, Government of NCT of Delhi and the commissioner of police, Delhi, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks,” NHRC said.

NHRC’s action comes amid a public back-and-forth over the interpretation of missing persons data. On Thursday, the day the report cited by the commission was published, Delhi Police issued a statement assuring residents that there was no cause for panic, particularly with regard to missing children.

In a video message, additional commissioner of police Sanjay Tyagi, who is also the spokesperson for Delhi Police, said that there had been no abnormal rise in missing persons cases. He stated that January 2026 had, in fact, seen fewer such reports compared to the same period last year, and stressed that the police followed a policy of fair and transparent crime reporting.

A day later, Delhi Police issued another statement warning of strict action against individuals allegedly using “paid promotion” to create a “hype” around reports of missing girls.

“After following a few leads, it was discovered that the narrative around a surge in missing girls cases is being pushed through paid promotion. Creating panic for monetary gains will not be tolerated, and strict action will be taken against such individuals,” the police statement on Friday said.