The Kerala High Court has issued a directive for the police officer responsible for investigating the case of a missing girl from Kasaragod to appear before the court with the case diary. This order comes after the girl, who had been missing for 27 days, was found deceased alongside a 42-year-old man, both discovered hanging from a tree near her home on Sunday.
Justices Devan Ramachandran and M B Snehalatha, presiding over the matter, emphasized the ongoing significance of the writ petition filed by the deceased girl’s mother. The justices stated that the court is “obligated to verify what really happened” and therefore cannot close the writ petition merely due to the tragic outcome.
The court has called for the investigating officer to present both the case diary of the initial missing person complaint, filed under Section 57 of the Kerala Police Act, and the diary concerning the investigation following the discovery of the bodies. The officer is scheduled to appear before the High Court on Tuesday.
In her writ petition, the mother of the girl expressed her belief that had the police acted more diligently and promptly on her daughter’s missing complaint, her daughter might still have been alive. She criticized the police for their lack of effective action after the complaint was lodged on February 12, a day after her daughter went missing.
The situation escalated when allegations arose against their neighbor, Pradeep, who had also disappeared simultaneously with the girl. Both individuals’ mobile phones were found to be switched off, complicating the search efforts. It wasn’t until Sunday that a large-scale search, involving a 52-member police team and local residents, led to the grim discovery close to the girl’s residence.
