Ranchi, March 23 (IANS) The Jharkhand High Court on Monday ordered a narco test of the prime accused in the case involving an 18-year-old girl from Bokaro who has been missing for the past eight months, and asked the authorities to submit a report in two weeks.
A division bench comprising Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Deepak Roshan directed that the narco analysis test be conducted on the main accused, Dinesh Mahto. The court made it clear that the report must be submitted before it at the next hearing.
During the proceedings, the Bokaro Superintendent of Police (SP) appeared in person with the case diary and records of the lower court. However, the bench strongly reprimanded the police over delays and lapses in the investigation.
The court expressed serious concern over the 10-day delay in registration of the FIR. Records showed that while the girl went missing on July 27, 2025, and a general diary entry (Sanha) was made the same day, the FIR was registered only on August 4, 2025. The state counsel failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the delay.
The SP informed the court that a show-cause notice had been issued to the Officer-in-Charge of Pindrajora Police Station for negligence in handling the case.
Appearing for the petitioner — the missing woman’s mother — advocates Vincent Rohit Marqui, Shantanu Gupta and Ritul Nanda raised serious concerns over the conduct of the police and the manner in which the investigation was carried out.
The case took a further turn when the court was informed that, in December 2025, inputs suggested that the missing girl was in Pune. Police had apprehended a suspect, Loknath Mahto, but he managed to give them the slip while he was being transported by train.
Referring to a similar incident from 2020, where the murder of a missing woman in Bokaro came to light nearly a year later, the bench cautioned the police against any lack of sensitivity or delay in such cases.
The High Court had earlier also warned that it may consider handing over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) if lapses persist.
–IANS
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