Citing ‘interstate’ links, Jharkhand High Court hands 2020 missing girl’s case to CBI

The Jharkhand High Court has transferred the investigation into the 2020 disappearance of a teenage girl to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing the interstate nature of the case and possible trafficking involvement. The bench of Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Sanjay Prasad ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to hand over all records and directed periodic review by the CBI.

The girl, aged about 14, vanished from Bokaro on October 16, 2020, while attending tuition classes. Her bicycle, slippers and notebooks were found on the roadside, suggesting abduction. Despite CID's five-and-a-half-year investigation, no concrete leads were found. The mother filed a habeas corpus plea, requesting the court to intervene.

The court noted that the CID investigation revealed interstate criminal activity, including digital activity traced to Delhi, Telangana and West Bengal. The court also pointed out the lack of advanced forensic resources in Jharkhand, making CBI intervention a necessity to trace and recover the missing girl.