Bengaluru: In a very disturbing trend, the number of missing cases of women in the state in general and Bengaluru in particular has been shooting up drastically.

In the last five months itself 1,310 women in the IT city went missing and when put in terms of police stations, it would mean every police station in the city had about 10 missing cases over the last five months. With 106 police stations in the city, it is said that only 604 cases have solved till date and most of the cases cracked were pertaining to cases of eloping. However, what remains to be mysterious are the balance cases, which the police have failed to solve.

According to data available with the State Crime Record Bureau, as many as 3,437 women went missing in the state in last five months, out of which 192 are minors or below 18 years of age.

The police say that the possibility of trafficking of women cannot be ruled out even in cases where girls have eloped. Sources say that the stalkers in the city lure young girls in the name of love, get married and sell them off to agents and brothels.

In a shocking case, four women-three housewives and one college student went missing in last three days in Banashankari (BSK) police limits alone.

Taking cognizance of the same, the CID had established a separate investigation cell called ‘Anti-women trafficking’ cells in 6 district centers across the state but the initiative did not yield expected results so far.