Missing Toddler Search: Body Found in Ranchi Drain, DNA Test Pending

Ranchi: Police on Tuesday recovered a body from a drain in Khortaoli while searching for an 18-month old Aditi Pandey, who has been missing since Saturday. Police said that the body has been sent to forensic science laboratory for DNA matching to ascertain whether it is of the same girl or not.

Meanwhile, police and the national disaster response force teams on Tuesday continued their search of the drain which flows from Khorhatoli into the Subernarekha river about five kilometres away. Even though the NDRF reached the point where the drain merges with the river, the girl was not traced.

Notably, Aditi had gone missing while playing near her home in Khorhatoli on Saturday evening. Police have formed teams to investigate the case while SP (city) Paras Rana is monitoring the developments.

Sadar deputy superintendent of police Sanjiv Besra said, “The skeleton of a body with pieces of flesh has been found during the search operation. It has been bitten by the local dogs. The identity of the body is being ascertained. The search operation for Aditi continued even after the recovery. We are yet to trace the girl.”