Over 23,000 Women And Girls Missing In Madhya Pradesh; Over 1,500 Rape Accused Still On The Run

Madhya Pradesh is in the grip of a disturbing crisis as over 23,000 women and minors have gone missing, while more than 1,500 accused in rape and sexual assault cases remain untraced. These figures were officially disclosed by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in the state assembly, in response to a detailed inquiry by Congress leader and former home minister Bala Bachchan.

The revelation came after Bachchan sought district-wise data on missing women and girls, and demanded updates on the number of rape and sexual assault cases registered between January 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. He also pressed the government for answers on the number of long-pending cases, status of arrests, and whether action has been taken against officials responsible for delayed investigations.

In a written reply, CM Yadav stated that as of June 30, 2025, a total of 21,175 women and 1,954 girls have remained untraced for over a year bringing the total number of missing females in Madhya Pradesh to 23,129.

Even more troubling is the number of accused who have evaded arrest.

The official data reveals that 292 men accused of raping women and 283 men accused of raping minors are still absconding, totalling 575 rape accused yet to be apprehended. In addition, 443 people accused in other sexual assault cases against women and 167 in cases involving girls are still at large that’s 610 sexual assault suspects unaccounted for.

Adding to this, 320 more suspects linked to the disappearance of women and girls including 76 connected to women and 254 to girls also remain untraced.

This means a total of 1,505 individuals accused in serious crimes against women and minors have yet to be arrested.

Several districts have been identified as high-risk zones for missing women cases. Sagar tops the list with 1,069 cases, followed by Jabalpur (946), Indore (788), Bhopal rural (688), Chhatarpur (669), Rewa (653), Dhar (637), and Gwalior (617).

Congress MLA Bala Bachchan expressed grave concern over the figures and urged the government to expedite arrests and hold officials accountable for lapses in investigation.

As the numbers paint a chilling picture of the scale of women’s safety issues in the state, civil society and opposition leaders are calling for urgent reforms and better law enforcement to bring justice to thousands of affected families.

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