More than 1,500 women and girls reported missing in Davanagere over the past three years have been traced, but 61 cases remain unresolved, raising serious concerns about human trafficking networks operating in and around the district.
This information was shared by Uma Prashanth, Superintendent of Police, Davanagere district, based on police records from 2023 to July 2025.
Missing women and girls: the numbers
According to district police data:
- 1,586 women and 191 girls were reported missing in Davanagere over the last three years.
- Of these, 1,525 women and 179 girls were successfully traced.
- 61 persons — 61 women and 12 girls combined — remain untraced, causing alarm among law enforcement agencies.
Year-wise data reveals a worrying upward trend:
Women untraced
- 2023: 13
- 2024: 14
- By July 2025: 34
Girls untraced
- 2023: 1
- 2024: 3
- By July 2025: 8
Police officials say the rising number of untraced cases, particularly among adults, cannot be ignored.
Causes range from personal distress to trafficking
SP Uma Prashanth said that missing cases stem from multiple social and personal factors, including:
- Love affairs
- Financial distress
- Family disputes
- Mental health struggles
“In most cases related to love affairs, the women or girls were traced,” police sources said. Some individuals who left home due to financial pressure or family conflicts were later found to have died by suicide, officials added.
However, police have expressed grave concern over cases involving abduction and organised human trafficking, noting that recovery rates in such cases are extremely low.
“Those caught in trafficking networks are rarely traced,” a police official said, indicating the complexity and cross-district or interstate nature of such crimes.
Rise in missing adult women
Data shows a steady increase in the number of women above 18 years reported missing across Davanagere district police stations:
- 2023: 585 women
- 2024: 611 women
- By July 2025: 390 women
Officials say the numbers for 2025 are particularly concerning, given that they represent only the first seven months of the year.
Children leaving home under pressure
Among children, police noted that teenage relationships, parental pressure regarding education, and fear of family reprimand were common reasons for children leaving home.
At the state level, the scale of the issue is even more stark.
From 2020 to July 2025, Karnataka recorded:
- 4,086 missing boys
- 10,792 missing girls
Of these, 333 boys and 1,003 girls remain untraced, according to a senior police official.
Police form special teams, warn against negligence
In response to the crisis, the Davanagere police have formed separate investigation teams under each police station to focus exclusively on tracing missing women and children.
The police department has issued strict instructions to officers to:
- Prioritise missing-person cases, regardless of workload
- Avoid categorising such cases as “inactive”
- Maintain sustained follow-up, even while managing law and order and other criminal investigations
Officials said regular monitoring, inter-district coordination, and intelligence-sharing are being strengthened to tackle organised trafficking networks.
Call for community awareness
Police have urged families and communities to report missing cases immediately, without delay, and to stay alert to signs of trafficking, grooming, or coercion.
With untraced cases steadily rising, officials stress that early reporting, social awareness, and coordinated enforcement are critical to preventing vulnerable women and children from disappearing into criminal networks.