'Can't A Missing 15-Yr-Old Girl Be Traced Even After Three Months? Shameful For Police': Andhra Pradesh HC Tells DGP

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday expressed astonishment at Pattabhipuram police in Guntur for its failure to trace a missing 15-year-old girl for three months and ordered the state Director General of Police (DGP) to produce her in court on Thursday.

A bench of Justices Battu Devanand and Tuhin Kumar categorically stated that this was an "absolute failure" on the part of the police after observing that it was a matter of shame for the government to have such a police force. "Can't a missing girl be traced even after three months?" the court questioned.

The court also sarcastically lauded Guntur district police for obstructing Andhra Pradesh Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Vajja Srinivasa Rao when he visited the police station to inspect the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act on July 13.

Earlier, the girl's father had filed a habeas corpus petition in the high court, stating that his daughter, a class 10 student of a private school in Guntur, had gone missing after leaving for tuition on June 10 and requested the court to direct the police to trace her. He alleged that a suspect named Shaik John Saida had befriended his daughter on Instagram, lured her into a trap, and taken her away.

He further noted that although the Pattabhipuram police had registered an FIR regarding the incident three months ago, they failed to trace her.

Advocate DV Sasidhar, representing the petitioner, argued that even though the police knew where Saida had taken the girl, they were not taking steps to bring her back.

The bench rejected the arguments of Assistant Government Pleader (AGP) Krishna Praneeth, who claimed that the police had searched for the girl across three states.

After this, the bench ordered the DGP to produce the girl before the court. When the AGP requested that the order be issued to the District Superintendent of Police (SP) instead of the DGP, the bench remarked that it lacked confidence in the SP and the Station House Officer (SHO).

The court ordered the DGP to produce the missing girl before it on Thursday after adjourning the hearing till the next day.

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