Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court has issued sharp remarks against Gumla Police for failing to trace a girl who went missing in 2018, questioning whether the force needs yet another year to find a child missing for seven years.
Court Questions Police Competence
A bench headed by Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad observed that despite the passage of nearly seven years, the police have been unable to locate the missing child. The court described this as a reflection of negligence and poor investigation, stating that the failure to produce any meaningful result despite all efforts indicates serious shortcomings in Gumla Police’s investigative approach. The court remarked that the only remaining option may be to hand over the case to the CBI.
SIT Teams Sent to Multiple States
The state government informed the court that three teams of a newly formed SIT have traveled to Mumbai, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu in search of the child. The government requested additional time to update the court once the teams return and information sought from South Eastern Railway regarding the child’s current age group travel history is received.
Case Adjourned for One Week
The court posted the matter for hearing after one week. During the hearing, the Gumla SP, SIT head, and the investigating officer appeared before the court as directed. In a previous hearing, the DGP had also appeared virtually, and the court had warned that the case could be transferred to the CBI if investigation did not yield results.
Background of the Case
The case involves a six-year-old girl from Gumla who went missing in September 2018. Her mother, Chandramuni Urain, filed a habeas corpus petition in the High Court seeking her daughter’s recovery. A previous SIT formed in 2023 had successfully recovered nine other missing children during its operations, but this particular child remains untraced.
