While lakhs of devotees of Lord Vitthal who had missed an audience with him for two years were reunited with the deity during the 2022 Ashadhi Ekadashi festival, it was the special cells set up by the police that reunited over 1,600 devotees with their families and friends. The brainchild of Solapur district police superintendent Tejaswi Satpute, the Missing Cells and 'Teerthakshetra Chowkis' (outposts) set up in and around the temple town of Pandharpur proved to be helpful for the children as well as elderly who got separated from their relatives or companions in the throngs. Devotees of Lord Vitthal walk to Pandharpur in western Maharashtra every year, reaching on Ashadhi Ekadashi, the 11th bright day of the Hindu month of Ashadh, when the pilgrimage or 'Wari' culminates with a 'darshan' of the deity.

But the pilgrimage could not take place on its usual scale in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, as all restrictions were lifted, nearly 15 lakh people poured into Pandharpur from various parts of Maharashtra and neighbouring states on July 10, the day of Ashadhi Ekadashi, as per police estimates. The district authorities anticipated that this huge congregation would result in people getting separated from their companions. So Satpute thought of setting up special Missing Cells. Five such cells and about half a dozen 'Teerthakshetra Chowkies' were set up, she said.