Gujarat’s Missing Children Crisis: 30 Minors From Ahmedabad Under Human Trafficking Probe

More than 500 minor children are reportedly still untraced across Gujarat, including around 30 cases being investigated by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.

The missing children from Ahmedabad are between three and 15 years old and disappeared from different parts of the city at different times. Police suspect that some of them may have fallen victim to human trafficking.

30 Missing Children Under Investigation in Ahmedabad

The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit has formed teams to trace the 30 minors whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Despite efforts to locate them, investigators have so far not found a specific link connecting the cases. Police are examining different leads and circumstances surrounding the disappearances.

Officials suspect that human trafficking could be one of the possible reasons behind some of the disappearances, although the cases remain under investigation and no definitive link has been established.

Children Aged Three to 15 Among Those Missing

The age of the missing children has added to concerns surrounding the cases. Several are as young as three, while others are teenagers up to the age of 15.

Police are examining individual cases separately while also looking for common patterns that could indicate organised movement or trafficking of minors.

The investigation includes efforts to trace the children's movements and identify people who may have information about their whereabouts.

Several Long-Pending Cases Remain Unresolved

The issue has also brought attention to several cases of children who disappeared from Ahmedabad years ago but have never been traced.

One such case involves a girl identified as Sona, who went missing from Ahmedabad several years ago.

In another case involving a minor girl, the investigation was handed over to the CBI. However, investigators reportedly failed to establish a clear link that could lead to the missing child.

There have also been cases in which children or young people disappeared under mysterious circumstances and remained untraced for years.

A case involving Vishwa Patel, who reportedly disappeared from an apartment in the Satellite area 13 years ago, is among the cases that have remained unresolved.

Questions Over Cases Closed After Seven Years

The reported number of untraced minors across Gujarat has also raised questions over the status of older missing-person investigations.

Under the applicable legal framework, a person who has not been heard from for seven years can, subject to the relevant legal process, be presumed dead. This has led to some long-pending investigations being formally closed when the missing person has remained untraced for seven years.

However, the disappearance of children presents a particularly serious concern because of their vulnerability and the possibility of exploitation.

Questions are now being raised over how older cases are reviewed and whether fresh leads are pursued when new information becomes available.

Rs 10,000 Reward Announced for Leads

The police have appealed to the public to provide any information that could help trace the missing children.

A reward of Rs 10,000 has been announced for information leading to their whereabouts. Investigators are also examining whether information from the public can help establish links between individual disappearance cases.

Police suspect that some of the missing minors may have been trafficked, but the suspicion has not been established in every case.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit is continuing its investigation and attempting to identify possible routes, contacts and individuals who may have played a role in the disappearances.

Gujarat's Missing Children Problem

The reported figure of more than 500 missing minors across Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, has raised wider concerns about the state's ability to trace children who disappear and keep long-running investigations active.

For the Ahmedabad cases, the immediate priority for the Crime Branch remains locating the 30 missing children and determining what happened to them.

The investigation will also seek to establish whether any of the cases are connected to trafficking networks or whether the disappearances have separate causes.