A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday slammed the police for the delay in tracing a 15-year-old girl who was reported missing and later found dead along with her 42-year-old neighbour in Kasaragod on March 9, nearly a month after she and the man went missing.
The Bench comprising Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice M.B. Snehalatha directed the investigating officer to appear before the court with the case diary on March 11.
The court passed the order when a Habeas Corpus petition filed by the girl’s mother came up for hearing. When the petition was taken up for hearing, counsel for the mother submitted that had the police acted effectively and swiftly, her daughter would have been alive.
The court observed that the girl had been missing for over 28 or 29 days. The Bench noted: “Our hearts certainly go out to the parents of the child and are certain that merely because the death has happened, it would not be justified for us to close this writ petition. We are obligated to verify what happened before we take a final decision.”
The girl was a Class X student in Kasaragod. The mother alleged that her daughter was forcefully taken by Pradeep on February 11 against her will and was under his illegal detention. Though the mother filed a complaint before the Station House Officer, Kumbala police station, no effective steps had been taken to trace her child, she said in the petition.
Published – March 10, 2025 07:58 pm IST