Ranchi, April 20 (IANS) The Jharkhand High Court on Monday took a stern view on the slow pace of investigation into the case of a girl who went missing from Gumla district in 2018.
It granted the state government two weeks to show tangible progress, failing which the probe may be handed over to the CBI.
During the hearing, a division bench headed by Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of meaningful results even after more than seven years since the girl’s disappearance. The court warned that if no concrete outcome emerges within the stipulated time, it would consider transferring the investigation to the CBI.
Jharkhand DGP Tadasha Mishra appeared before the court through video conferencing and apprised the bench of the present status of the investigation.
The court questioned why the girl could not be traced despite such a long time having passed and sought clarity on the direction in which the probe was progressing.
The court also sought details from the Gumla SP regarding the investigation. After examining the submissions, the bench observed that the inquiry had failed to make expected headway and directed the state government to file a detailed and satisfactory response within two weeks.
The court reiterated that if no substantial progress is reported by the next hearing, it would consider handing over the case to the CBI.
The missing girl’s mother had moved the High Court with a habeas corpus plea. In earlier hearings, the court had not only questioned the pace of the investigation but had also stressed the need for effective use of technology in tracing missing children.
It had also underlined the requirement for a clear standard operating procedure (SOP) for using Aadhaar‑related data in such cases.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been constituted to probe the matter and conducted investigations at various locations, but the girl’s whereabouts remain unknown.
The High Court has earlier too emphasised the need to treat missing children cases with utmost seriousness and ensure prompt action.
–IANS
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