Delhi's 2026 missing cases doesn't show abnormal spike, lower than previous years, shows data
According to the data, 1,777 people were reported missing in January 2026, a figure below both the monthly averages recorded over the past two years.
The number of people reported missing in Delhi in January this year was proportionately lower than in previous years, the data shared by the Delhi Police has shown.
According to the data, 1,777 people were reported missing in January 2026, a figure below both the monthly averages recorded over the past two years. In comparison, Delhi reported 24,893 missing persons in 2024 and 24,508 in 2025.
The figures come amid recent concerns triggered by data from the first 15 days of January, which suggested that an average of 54 people were being reported missing every day in the capital.
Addressing the concerns, the Delhi Police clarified that missing-person reports also include short-duration absences, such as temporary unreachability, and do not necessarily indicate long-term disappearances. The police added that detection rates improve over time as investigations progress.
Official data further shows that the number of missing persons reported in January this year is below the monthly average since 2024. While an average of 2,074 people were reported missing each month in 2024 and 2,042 in 2025, the January 2026 figure stood at 1,777, significantly lower than both averages.
Here is the breakdown of year-wise and monthly average:
- Data for January 2026: 1,777
- Total missing in 2024: 24,893 (Monthly average: 2,074)
- Total missing in 2025: 24,508 (Monthly average: 2,042)
- Total missing in January 2025 - 1,786
Detection rates improved
{{/usCountry}}Here is the breakdown of year-wise and monthly average:
- Data for January 2026: 1,777
- Total missing in 2024: 24,893 (Monthly average: 2,074)
- Total missing in 2025: 24,508 (Monthly average: 2,042)
- Total missing in January 2025 - 1,786
Detection rates improved
{{/usCountry}}The Delhi police said that the detection of missing persons is a time-dependent and cumulative process, and it is not confined to the year in which a case is registered.
{{/usCountry}}The Delhi police said that the detection of missing persons is a time-dependent and cumulative process, and it is not confined to the year in which a case is registered.
{{/usCountry}}Moreover, the records show that of the 23,409 missing in 2016, 85 per cent of those missing were traced over a period of 9 years. In 2025, around 63 per cent of 24,508 total missing were traced within a year.
Missing data records even short-duration absences
{{/usCountry}}Moreover, the records show that of the 23,409 missing in 2016, 85 per cent of those missing were traced over a period of 9 years. In 2025, around 63 per cent of 24,508 total missing were traced within a year.
Missing data records even short-duration absences
{{/usCountry}}The Delhi Police statement said that the capital has an online/app based reporting system where reports are registered even for short-term absence.
{{/usCountry}}The Delhi Police statement said that the capital has an online/app based reporting system where reports are registered even for short-term absence.
{{/usCountry}}It added that the citizens can register missing reports even in precautionary situations, like "children getting delayed from school" or "temporarily unreachable over calls".
"Many such cases are traced quickly but still appear in official statistics, as parents do not report tracing of children/persons," it added.
Delhi's missing person rate lower than global standards
The report also suggested that Delhi's missing person data is below the US and UK, in terms of population figures.
While the missing rate in Delhi is around 122 per 100,000 population, the rate is around 254 in London/UK and 138 in the United States.
