Jharkhand High Court Slams Gumla Police Over 7-Year Missing Minor Case, CBI Probe Demanded

Ranchi: Jharkhand high court on Tuesday pulled up Gumla police for not being able to trace a minor girl missing for the past seven years.The habeas corpus petition was filed by Chandramani Orion before the high court informing that her daughter, then aged six years, has been missing since Sept 2018 from Khora village in Gumla district.She tried to trace her daughter and later lodged a complaint with the police but claimed the probe has made no progress.The bench of Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Sanjay Prasad during the hearing of the plea observed that police have failed to trace the child for the past seven years and it seems police will take another year to find her. The investigation ought to be handed over to the CBI, the court observed.Gumla superintendent of police, head of the special investigating team and the investigating officer of the case were present in the court during the hearing on Tuesday.The court was informed that three teams of the SIT have been sent to Mumbai, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu. Further information about the investigation carried out by the teams will be available on their return, the state counsel informed the bench. The case will be heard again after a week.Earlier, the court had ordered the director general of police to appear in connection with the case. The DGP had appeared through virtual mode before the court and assured that the child will be traced soon.