Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has pulled up Guntur Police over their failure to trace a Class X student who has been missing for nearly three months and directed the state Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta, a 1992-batch IPS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, to produce the girl before the court. The court termed it a “matter of shame.”
The direction came while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the girl’s father, who alleged that police had failed to trace his daughter despite knowing the identity of a person suspected of taking her away.
Girl Went Missing on June 9
According to the petition, the girl went missing on June 9 after leaving home for tuition classes. Her father alleged that she was taken away by a person identified as Sheik Jan Saidha, who had allegedly become acquainted with her through social media.
The petitioner’s counsel, D V Sasidhar, told the court that despite knowing the identity of the suspected person, police had failed to apprehend him or trace the girl. He also submitted that the suspect had reportedly challenged the police through social media to catch him.
Court Questions Police Investigation
A division bench comprising Justices Battu Devanand and G Tuhin Kumar questioned the police about the steps taken since the complaint was registered in June.
The bench specifically sought to know whether investigators had determined if the girl had left voluntarily, had been kidnapped or had been trafficked.
Police, represented by Assistant Government Pleader Krishna Praneeth, told the court that an FIR was registered immediately after the complaint and that multiple teams had searched for the girl and the suspect across three states.
The court, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation and questioned why the girl had not been traced despite the availability of advanced technology.
DGP Directed to Produce Girl
Taking a serious view of the matter, the High Court observed that the girl should have been traced by now if the investigation had been pursued effectively.
The court also referred to an earlier incident involving the alleged prevention of the State Chief Information Commissioner from entering a police station in Guntur and remarked that such conduct did little credit to the police department.
The bench subsequently directed the DGP to ensure that the missing girl is produced before the court on Thursday.
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