Nagpur: As many as 2,965 girls have gone missing from Maharashtra in the first six months this year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.

The number has gone up from 2,881 girls, who had gone missing between January 1 and June 30 in 2016, he said in a written reply in tabled in the state Legislative Assembly in response to a query by BJP MLA Randheer Savarkar.

The chief minister, who heads the home department, said, "No case was registered against any particular gang in this connection. Some 12 police departments have been instructed to take immediate action against such activities."

According to Fadnavis, the union government formed www.trackthemissingchild.gov.in for tracking a missing girl child.

"The Railways is also updating their portals www.shodh.gov.in for the same purpose. These websites have been helpful in detecting cases," he said in the reply.

The state government had undertaken four special drives, such as Operation Muskan and Operation Smile, which helped in finding 1,613 girls between January 1 and June 30, 2016. The drive also helped find 645 girls this year, Fadnavis said in the reply.