The Delhi Police on Friday alleged that a “paid promotion” was behind recent reports about a purported surge in the number of missing girls in the national capital.

The police made the statement against the backdrop of reports saying that more than 800 persons went missing in Delhi in the first 15 days of this year, with women and girls accounting for two-thirds of the cases.

“After following a few leads, we discovered that the hype around the surge in missing girls in Delhi is being pushed through paid promotion,” the Delhi Police said on Friday. “Creating panic for monetary gains won’t be tolerated, and we will take strict action against such individuals.”

A day earlier, the police said that there was no need to panic about “rumours being spread” about persons, especially children, going missing.

The authorities said that there had been a decline in the number of cases of missing persons in the first 15 days this year as compared to the same period last year, PTI reported.

The news agency quoted official data as saying that 807 persons went missing from January 1 to 15, of whom 509 were women and girls, and 298 were men. Of the total number, 191 were minors, and 616 were adults.

The police, however, did not say how many missing person cases were recorded in the first 15 days of 2025.

Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Tyagi said that the authorities follow a “transparent and impartial” policy for recording crimes.

“Missing person reports can be lodged not only at local police stations but also through online platforms and ERSS [Emergency Response Support System] 112,” he said. “As per our standard operating procedure, the Delhi Police takes efforts to trace missing persons at the earliest. Cases of missing children are given special priority.”

The police also said that no organised gang or criminal network has been found to be linked to cases of missing or abducted children in the capital.

Tyagi urged citizens not to pay heed to rumours and said that action would be taken against those spreading misinformation.