Delhi Police slam viral claims of surge in missing girls, said, "paid promotion behind panic"

Delhi Police slam viral claims of surge in missing girls, said, "paid promotion behind panic"

• Delhi Police refutes surge in missing girls, blames paid social media hype.
• January 2026 missing-person cases drop compared to previous years, police report.
• Police urged public to avoid sharing unverified or sensational content online

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Delhi Police on Friday pushed back strongly against viral claims suggesting a sudden surge in missing girls in the national capital, stating that the panic was being deliberately fuelled through paid promotions on social media.

In an official statement, the police said they had traced several of the viral posts and found that the narrative was being amplified for monetary gain. “After following a few leads, we discovered that the hype around the surge in missing girls in Delhi is being pushed through paid promotion. Creating panic for monetary gains won’t be tolerated, and we’ll take strict action against such individuals,” the police said.

The clarification comes after social media platforms were flooded with alarming posts claiming that dozens of girls were going missing every day in Delhi. Some of these posts cited partial data from the first half of January, which showed that an average of around 54 people were being reported missing daily. According to the police, this figure was taken out of context and presented in a misleading manner.

Data released by Delhi Police shows that 1,777 people were reported missing in January 2026. This number, the police said, is proportionately lower than the monthly averages recorded over the past two years. In comparison, Delhi recorded 24,893 missing persons in 2024 and 24,508 in 2025, indicating that January’s figures are not unusually high.

Addressing public concern, the police explained that missing-person data includes a wide range of cases, many of which involve short-term absences rather than long-term disappearances. “Missing-person reports also include cases such as temporary loss of contact, children being delayed from school, or individuals being unreachable on phone calls,” the police said.

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They added that many of these cases are resolved quickly, but still remain part of official statistics. “Many such cases are traced quickly but still appear in official statistics, as parents do not report tracing of children/persons,” the statement noted. The police also emphasised that detection rates improve over time as investigations progress, and early figures should not be treated as final indicators.

Delhi Police further pointed out that the capital follows an online and app-based system for registering missing-person reports, which makes it easier for citizens to file complaints as a precautionary measure. While this system encourages prompt reporting, it can also inflate raw numbers when viewed without context.

Putting the issue in a global perspective, the police cited a report comparing missing-person rates across major cities. According to the data, Delhi’s missing-person rate stands at around 122 per 100,000 population. By contrast, the rate is approximately 254 per 100,000 in London and the UK, and about 138 per 100,000 in the United States, as reported earlier by Hindustan Times.

The police urged citizens to rely on verified information and avoid sharing unverified or sensational content online. They reiterated that spreading fear through misinformation, especially for financial gain, would invite strict legal action.