Lucknow, Jun 8 Taking a serious view of the rising number of missing minor girls in the state capital, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday expressed concern over police functioning and directed senior officers to ensure effective monitoring of such cases.
The court ordered the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (East) Deeksha Sharma to submit a detailed report within three days and directed all station house officers (SHOs), circle officers (COs) and investigating officers under her jurisdiction to appear before the court on the next date of hearing.
Justice Praveen Kumar Giri also sought an explanation from the Lucknow Police Commissioner Amrendra Sengar regarding similar incidents reported across police stations in the city.
Observing that the matter concerns the life and liberty of minor girls, the court stressed the need for greater vigilance and accountability on the part of the police.
During the hearing, the DCP filed a personal affidavit stating that 81 women and girls, most of them minors, had either been abducted or lured away from the nine police station areas under her supervision. While 66 of them have been traced and recovered, 15 girls are still missing.
The court further directed the DCP to identify cases that may not have been reported to the police and submit a report on such instances. It also instructed the police department to deploy competent officers wherever necessary and ensure that SHOs, outpost in-charges and investigating officers handle such cases with greater seriousness.
The directions came while hearing a habeas corpus petition concerning a 12-year-old girl who had been missing from the BBD police circle for nearly four months. The girl was recovered and produced before the court following its intervention. On being asked by the court, she expressed her desire to go with her father, after which her custody was handed over to him.
The court also expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation conducted by Sub-Inspector Ashwani Kumar Rai, observing that he had neither carried out a proper probe nor made adequate efforts to trace the child. The matter has been listed for further hearing on June 10.
Savitri v. State of U.P., (Allahabad)(Lucknow) : Law Finder Doc Id # 2921089
