The Jharkhand High Court has stepped in firmly in the case of a missing 18-year-old girl from Bokaro, expressing concern over delays in the investigation and ordering a DNA test of skeletal remains recovered by police.
Hearing the matter, a bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Sanjay Prasad directed that the DNA analysis be conducted at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Kolkata. The court also ordered that the post-mortem be carried out at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, to maintain transparency.
Top officials, including the state DGP, Bokaro SP, forensic authorities, and members of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), were present in court during the hearing.
The bench voiced dissatisfaction over the slow pace of the probe and instructed that samples from the skeletal remains and the girl’s parents be collected and sent for testing within 48 hours. The state has been asked to submit a progress report within two weeks.
While the government informed the court that 18 police officials have been suspended for negligence, the judges made it clear that responsibility must extend beyond lower-ranking personnel to senior officials as well.
The case pertains to the disappearance of Pushpa Kumari Mahto in August 2025. The investigation gained momentum only after her mother, Rekha Devi, moved the High Court through a habeas corpus plea.
Police later arrested Dinesh Kumar Mahto and recovered skeletal remains based on his statement. However, the petitioner’s lawyer, Vincent Rohit Marky, has questioned whether the remains belong to the missing girl.
The DNA test results are now expected to be crucial in establishing the identity of the remains and determining the next course of the investigation.
With inputs from IANS