Human trafficking of women, children in Indian states on rise

Pedestrians and shoppers walking past stores near Crawford market at night in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday (Feb 4). India's financial capital Mumbai and Pune recorded the highest number of missing women at 4,718 and 5,201 in 2017 and 2018. - Bloomberg

MUMBAI: Human trafficking of women and children has reached alarming proportion in India's western state of Maharashtra with 28,316, 29,279 and 33,964 of them missing in the year 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively, media quoted figures from the National Crime Records Bureau as reporting on Tuesday (Feb 4).

India's financial capital Mumbai and Pune recorded the highest number of missing women at 4,718 and 5,201 in 2017 and 2018, while in Pune, the number of missing women for the same years was 2,576 and 2,504 respectively, The Hindu newspaper reported.