As the issue of missing children grabs national attention amid controversies in Delhi and renewed public focus following the release of the Bollywood film Mardani 3, official figures reveal both the gravity of the problem in Chandigarh and the speed with which the police have responded to it.According to official data reviewed by the Chandigarh Administration, as many as 722 children were reported missing in Chandigarh over four years between 2022 and 2025 — about 181 children every year or one child every two days. However, the actual numbers could be higher, as several cases are believed to go unreported due to fear, stigma or delayed complaints.Despite the worrying trend, the data also highlights the effectiveness of police action. Of the 722 missing children, 690 (over 96.5 per cent) were traced and reunited with their families, leaving 32 cases currently unresolved. Calculated over four years, this means the Chandigarh Police traced around 173 children every year, or roughly one missing child every alternate day, underlining sustained and swift intervention.Year-wise figures show a steady rise in missing children cases — from 155 in 2022 to a peak of 195 in 2024, before a marginal dip to 187 in 2025. Even as numbers increased, the tracing rate remained consistently high, never falling below 93 per cent in any year. In 2022, the police traced 151 of 155 missing children; in 2023, 181 of 185 were located; in 2024, 184 of 195 were traced; and in 2025, 174 of 187 children were found.The data also points to age-specific vulnerability. Of the 32 children still missing, half are in the 16-18 age group, followed by those aged 14-15 years. Only four cases involve children aged below 13, indicating that adolescents are the most at risk — often due to factors such as peer influence, online exposure and exploitation.The seriousness of the issue was recently discussed at a meeting of the UT Administrator’s Advisory Council Standing Committee on Law and Order, chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu. The meeting was attended by committee members, senior UT officials and police officers, with Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur as convener. The panel reviewed the status of missing and traced children and examined emerging threats requiring urgent attention.Raising a red flag, Sandhu expressed concern over the presence of beggars across the city, questioning their credentials and pointing to reports of organised gangs allegedly kidnapping vulnerable children and pushing them into begging, forced labour and other forms of exploitation. He called for intensified verification drives and coordinated action to dismantle such networks.Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, who recently reviewed the status of missing and traced children with the police top brass, reiterated a zero-tolerance approach. “Chandigarh will not allow any gang or individual to exploit children. Every report of a missing child must be treated as an emergency. Our goal is clear — to trace each and every missing minor and reunite them with their families at the earliest,” Kataria said.Echoing the resolve, the SSP said the Chandigarh Police acted immediately on every missing child report and maintained a close coordination with neighbouring states, as the city bordered Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. “Anyone found exploiting children will face strict legal action. We are committed to leaving no stone unturned in tracing missing children and ensuring their safety,” she said.