The Gujarat Police concluded “Operation Milap” on 7 June 2026, a month-long drive to trace missing persons. The campaign successfully located 1,470 individuals (852 women, 384 men, and 234 minor girls) out of a backlog of over 24,000 pending cases dating back to 2007.
Operational Strategy
- Digital Tracking: Utilized cyber units to analyze historical Call Detail Records (CDRs), Subscriber Detail Records (SDRs), and IP addresses to track active digital footprints.
- Inter-State Coordination: Established formal intelligence-sharing links with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu to recover individuals who crossed state lines.
- Human Intelligence: Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) collaborated with local police mitras, ASHA workers, and NGOs to audit labor colonies and migrant shelters.
Drivers of Disappearances
- Social Dynamics: Voluntary elopement due to caste structures or parental disapproval.
- Domestic Factors: Marital discord, financial stress, and escaping abusive environments.
- Migration: Unregulated labor migration to industrial hubs, where individuals lose contact due to lack of digital literacy or exploitative conditions.
IASPOINT Booster Facts
- Legal Mandate: Bachpan Bachao Andolan vs. Union of India (2013) makes FIR registration compulsory upon receiving a missing complaint for a minor.
- Institutional Tools:
- TrackChild Portal: MHRD-maintained digital registry for tracking missing/sighted children.
- CCTNS: NCRB-managed network integrating missing person databases nationally.
- JJ Act, 2015 (Sec 94): Mandates strict age-determination protocols for recovered minors.
- Related Initiatives: Operation Muskaan/Smile (MHA-led) focuses on rescuing trafficked/missing children.