Women Flee Homes For Love, Men For Domestic Trouble: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state legislature that the primary reason most women leave their homes is romantic relationships, citing data that showed love affairs as the single biggest factor behind women going missing in the state.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state legislature that the primary reason most women leave their homes is romantic relationships, citing data that showed love affairs as the single biggest factor behind women going missing in the state. According to figures presented by the CM, 46.32 per cent of women left home for "love affairs," 20 per cent for "family problems" and two per cent over "mental stress." Among men, 32 per cent left due to domestic issues, while 9.12 per cent left for love, reversing the pattern seen among women.
Very Few Missing Cases Involve Abduction, Says CM
Fadnavis also presented a breakdown showing that in a very small share of "missing" cases, the person had actually been abducted, even where a minor was reported missing. Devendra Fadnavis Defends Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill 2026 Amidst Opposition Criticism, Says It Is Not Against Any Religion.
"When it came to women, only 5.25 per cent of the total missing women were abducted while 4.47 per cent of kidnapping cases were related to abduction. In the rest of these cases, the victims voluntarily fled from home due to the reasons mentioned above," Fadnavis said, presenting data from 2021-2026.
Parties such as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have in the past raised concerns over rising cases of missing children in the state. Between 2021 and 2026, 2,34,811 women went missing while 2,17,758 men went missing in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, adding that 93 per cent of them had returned home.
Conviction Rate Rises Sharply Under BNS
Speaking on the state's conviction rate, Fadnavis said it stood at 52.6 per cent as of May 2026, up from 44.2 per cent the previous year and just 9.4 per cent in 2011-12. How Google Search Helped Reunite a Missing Maharashtra Woman With Her Family.
"The conviction rate was low due to earlier laws but with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BMC) coming in, we aim to reach a conviction rate of 70 per cent," the CM said.
On compliance with BNS mandated changes, Fadnavis said e-sakshya, the process of recording witness testimony on camera to prevent witnesses from turning hostile during trial, has been followed in 90 per cent of cases. Forensic vans visited crime scenes in serious offences in 91.9 per cent of cases, as mandated by the BNS.
Fadnavis further said chargesheets have been filed within the mandated 60 or 90 day window in 50 per cent of cases overall, while in rape cases, chargesheets were filed within 60 days in 90 per cent of cases.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 22, 2026 12:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
