One girl went missing every 15 hours in city between Jan & June; 87% recovered

Lucknow: At least 261 minor girls were reported missing in the Lucknow Commissionerate between January 1 and June 8, 2026, translating to an average of 1.64 cases a day — roughly one girl going missing every 14–15 hours — according to official police data.

Of the 261 cases reported over 159 days, 227 minor girls have been traced and reunited with their families, taking the recovery rate to nearly 87%.

However, 34 girls remain untraced, with search operations continuing across districts and beyond. The figures came to light during a hearing at the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court.

The court on Wednesday directed the Lucknow police commissioner to submit a detailed progress report on the 34 minor girls who remain untraced, while noting the recovery of 227 girls over the past six months.

The direction came during the hearing of a habeas corpus petition before Justice Praveen Kumar Giri.

Personal affidavits filed by the commissioner of police and deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Lucknow East zone, Deeksha Sharma, stated that 261 minor girls had been reported abducted, kidnapped, enticed away or missing during the period. Of these, 227 have been traced, while efforts are underway to locate the remaining 34.

Zone-wise data shows that the East zone accounts for the highest number of unrecovered cases, with 10 girls still missing. The South zone follows with seven untraced cases, while the West and North zones have six each. The Central zone has reported five such cases.

DCP Sharma said dedicated teams have been constituted in each zone to track the missing girls. “The SOPs mandated by the court and human rights guidelines are being followed, and we are aiming to rescue all missing girls at the earliest,” she said.

She added that investigations are relying heavily on technical surveillance, including mobile tracking and digital footprints, alongside field intelligence and informant networks.

“We are using all available resources, including inter-state coordination and social media monitoring, to trace the minors,” a senior police officer said, adding that recovery of the remaining girls is being treated as a priority.