Raj Thackeray Writes to Fadnavis on Child Abduction Cases

Mumbai: MNS chief Raj Thackeray has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressing serious concern over the rising number of child abductions in the state, particularly incidents involving young girls in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. Thackeray has accused the government of failing to address a growing public safety crisis and urged CM Fadnavis to take concrete and immediate action.

In a post on X, Thackeray cited National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data showing a nearly 30 per cent increase in child abductions in the span of three years. “According to NCRB data, even if we look at recent years, this rate has increased by nearly 30 per cent from 2021 to 2024. Interstate gangs have emerged that abduct young children and then force them into labour or push them into begging on the streets. These gangs are brazenly abducting very young children, and it is unclear what exactly the government is doing about it,” he said.

Thackeray warned that organised interstate gangs are systematically targeting children, abducting them and forcing them into labour and begging across different regions. Hitting out at the government for failing to take visible action against these gangs, he questioned why there is no clear strategy to prevent such crimes.

The MNS chief asked whether there was any urgency to deal with the issue. “When we see young children begging on the streets, at railway stations or at bus stands, who are they? Are the adults begging alongside them really their parents? Should the government not issue orders for investigations or, if necessary, even conduct DNA tests?” he asked.

Thackeray said mere statistics offered little reassurance to families. “We in Maharashtra do not want a government response along the lines of, ‘So many cases of child abduction have been registered, and X per cent of those children have been traced and safely returned to their families.’ Fundamentally, the figures reported by the NCRB only show how many parents have filed complaints with the police. But do even a few thousand such complaints actually reach the police in the first place?” Thackeray asked.

When asked about the MNS chief’s letter, Fadnavis said that he had not read it in detail. However, he explained that even if a girl leaves home after an argument and returns within three days, a missing person complaint is still registered. This makes the number of missing persons appear large. But he added that they successfully brought back more than 90 percent of the girls within a year, while the remaining girls returned within a year or a year and a half.