Operation Anweshan: 2417 missing persons rescued during statewide drive in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Sep 1(IANS) The Odisha Police has rescued as many as 2417 missing persons during a special drive, “Operation Anweshan” carried out across the state from August 18 to 22.

The five-day special drive was conducted to trace and rescue missing children and women in the state.

In an official statement released on Monday, the Odisha Police revealed that the cops during the above period last month have traced and found out 358 numbers of missing children, including 33 boys and 325 girls.

The police forces also traced and rescued 2059 missing women between August 18 and 22 this year.

The Puri district police performed the best by rescuing 45 children and 504 women, followed by Bhadrak district, which rescued 37 Children and 318 women.

Similarly, the Cuttack district police also found out 21 Children and 304 women during the period.

“In the year 2025, apart from 'Operation Anweshan', separate special drives for tracing women and children were conducted in February, April, and May,” revealed Odisha Police.

As many as 6667 missing women were rescued by the cops across the state during the special drives carried out in February, April and May in 2025. The cops also tracked 1209 missing children, including 1078 girls and 131 boys, in the special drives conducted in February, April and May.

The Odisha Police informed that such special drives to trace missing persons will continue in the coming days as well.

The opposition parties have been targeting the state government over missing women and girls in Odisha since the BJP assumed power in the state.

Earlier, the Indian National Congress had alleged that as many as 44,000 women and girls had gone missing in Odisha during the previous BJD government’s rule in the state between 2000 and 2024, while 20,000 others were not found during the first eight months of the BJP government.

--IANS

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