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Synopsis

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking directions for the Maharashtra Police to trace 1 lakh girls who have gone missing between 2019 and 2021.

The PIL, filed by Sahaji Jagtap, a former soldier from Sangli, states that his daughter went missing in 2019 while she was in her third year of college.

Jagtap filed a complaint with the police, but his daughter could not be traced. Subsequently, he discovered that his daughter had converted to Islam and married a man.

He added that he could meet his daughter only for two minutes and does not know why she broke all ties with her family.

Jagtap then came across a notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs, according to which 35,990 girls went missing in 2019, 30,089 in 2020, and 34,763 in 2021.

The petition also stated that despite certain directions by the Supreme Court in 2002, no effort was made to trace the missing girls.

The petition seeks a direction to be issued to the investigating agencies to file a status report on the action being taken where complaints were filed concerning missing girls.

Further, the plea states that if the issue is taken seriously, it may unearth the exploitation of women or even forceful conversion into any religion.

“Petitioner submits that the missing women in the State needs to be treated with equal gravity since there are thousands of Offences involved and hundreds of families involved. The issue, if taken seriously, may also unearth some murders of these missing women, women trafficking, exploiting women to illegal activities or even forceful conversion into any religion or such other grave offences,” the plea states.

Case title: Sahaji Ramdas Jagtap vs State of Maharashtra & Ors