The Delhi High Court has transferred the investigation into the case of a missing girl, who has been untraceable since 2019, to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Crime Branch and directed the DCP to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and intensify efforts to locate, recover and produce her before the court at the earliest.
A divisional bench of the Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani further directed that the SIT former shall be personally supervised by the DCP, AHTU Crime Branch.
“The DCP, AHTU Crime Branch shall also file a detailed status report, authored by him, detailing the steps taken by them to locate and recover the missing daughter of the petitioner since 26.09.2019, on or before the next date of hearing, with advance copy to learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner,”
-said the Delhi High Court.
The Court list the matter for further hearing on March 19, 2021.
The Court was hearing the Habeas Corpus plea filed by the mother of a girl who went missing in 2019. The petitioner has also filed an FIR with the Delhi Police but nothing has been done so far. The petitioner approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to transfer the case from Delhi Police to an independent/specialised investigating agency, i.e. Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of Delhi Police.
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The Court has said that the Delhi Police has been unable to unearth any clue with regard to the location of Nandani Mishra, the daughter of the petitioner, since 26.09.2019, when she was first reported to be missing, we consider it appropriate to transfer the investigation into FIR No. 413/2019 registered under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 at PS: Swaroop Nagar, Delhi to the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Crime Branch forthwith.
Read the order here;
habeas-corpus-petition