The Delhi High Court has asked the police to file a quarterly report before a magistrate on the status of a girl, who has been missing for the past five years when she was a minor.
The high court noted that all possible efforts have been made to trace the girl and the investigation in the FIR is also pending but there is no clue about her.
“In light of the aforesaid and since all possible efforts to trace the missing girl have been made and the FIR lodged in the case is pending investigation. Despite that, no clue of the missing girl who was 14 years old at the time of missing and now is 19 years old.
“We hereby dispose of the present writ petition while directing the concerned police officials to file a quarterly status report before the concerned metropolitan magistrate and, if any, clue is found about the missing girl, the same shall be transmitted to the petitioner,” a bench of justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Shalinder Kaur said.
The court was hearing a petition by the girl’s mother who said she took her daughter to a hospital in August 2018 and left her in the queue in the waiting area and went to complete the
formalities.
When she came back, her daughter was not there and the police were informed, the plea said.
It said on accessing the CCTV footage, the police found that two boys sitting next to the girl were harassing her and also that four boys were following her when she got up from the bench.
Despite the CCTV footage being accessed by the police official, no steps were taken by him for lodging of FIR and after intervention from the Delhi Commission for Women, a case was registered, the petition said.
It said despite having this information with them, the police refused to take any steps to trace the girl after which the plea was filed in the high court.
The police, in its status report, said the suspects were re-examined regarding the girl but they could not provide any clue which could help in tracing the minor.
It said the website of ZIPNET and ‘trackthemissingchild’ having data of found persons and unclaimed bodies are being regularly checked to match the details of missing girl but there is no similar match as on date.
