HC Issues 2-Week Ultimatum in 2018 Missing Girl Case

Ranchi (IANS): The Jharkhand High Court took a stern view regarding the slow pace of investigation into the 2018 disappearance of a girl from Gumla district.

The court granted the state government two weeks to demonstrate tangible progress and warned that it would otherwise hand the probe over to the CBI.

During the hearing on Monday, a division bench led by Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of results more than seven years after the girl vanished. The bench cautioned that it would consider transferring the case to the CBI if no concrete outcome emerges within the allotted timeframe.

Jharkhand DGP Tadasha Mishra appeared via video conference to brief the bench on the current status of the investigation.

The court questioned the failure to trace the girl after so much time and demanded clarity on the probe’s direction. The bench also requested specific investigation details from the Gumla SP. After reviewing the submissions, the court observed that the inquiry had stalled and directed the state government to file a satisfactory response within two weeks.

The court reiterated its intent to involve the CBI if the state fails to report substantial progress by the next hearing.

The missing girl’s mother initiated the legal action by filing a habeas corpus plea. In previous sessions, the court criticized the slow pace of the investigation and emphasized that authorities must use technology more effectively to trace missing children.

The bench also stressed the need for a clear Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) regarding the use of data from identity documents, such as [Aadhaar Redacted] records, in these cases.

Although a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has conducted searches in various locations, the girl’s whereabouts remains unknown. The High Court previously urged officials to treat missing children cases with the utmost seriousness and ensure prompt action.