NAWALPARASI: The number of women and children reported to be missing is on the rise in Nawalparasi.

In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, 221 women and children were reported missing, and of them the fate of 149 remains unknown. Statistics also indicate that the number of girls missing is higher.

In the previous fiscal, 128 women, 11 boys and 39 girls were reported missing, according to the West Nawalparasi District Police Office, Women's Cell. Of them, 73 women, 9 boys and 29 girls were later found. Some of the women and girls also elope, without informing their parents.

However, Chief of the Women and Children Office in Nawalparasi said that women and children are also trafficked due to the open border with India.