MUMBAI: The high court on Thursday asked the state government and the police force if there was any concrete mechanism to trace the lakhs of women who went missing in the state between 2019 and 2021. The court also directed the State Women's Commission to file an affidavit in the matter.
A large number of women and children have gone missing. It is the duty of the government and the police to find him. A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar made it clear that the police administration, railway police and vigilance should look into the matter seriously.
Earlier, the petitioner's daughter had voluntarily left the house and decided to convert. The state government told the court that it cannot interfere in her case as she is a learned person and has the right to take a decision as per the law. However, the number of other missing women mentioned in the petition cannot be ignored. The issue of missing women in Maharashtra was raised in the Lok Sabha in 2023. The court drew the attention of the state government to the fact that the number of missing women is disproportionately high and includes minors and adolescent girls.
The court directed the state government, the State Women's Commission and the railway police chief to file affidavits stating whether there is a similar mechanism to trace missing women or prevent trafficking of women and if so, what measures have been taken or will be taken by the agencies to prevent the problem.