Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod
Kasargod, Mar 11: The High Court of Kerala came down heavily on the Kerala Police for taking 25 days to find the body of a 15-year-old schoolgirl who had gone missing from her home in Kasargod’s Paivalige grama panchayat on February 12.
A division bench of justices Devan Ramachandran and M B Snehalatha directed Kumble station house officer Inspector Vinod Kumar KP, the investigating officer, to appear before the court with the case diary on Tuesday, March 11. The court warned of serious consequences if any lapses were found in the investigation while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the girl's mother, Prabhavathi B.
According to the petition, the Class 10 student went missing from her house between 9 pm on February 11 and 4.45 am on February 12. On March 9, her body and that of her neighbour, Pradeep CK (42), were found hanging from a tree in Merkala forest, just 300 metres from her house. Pradeep, a taxi driver, had also been reported missing the same day, and neighbours had speculated that he might have taken the girl to Madikeri in Karnataka, where he had connections.
Shreya's mother had filed a habeas corpus petition before the High Court on March 6, 22 days after lodging the missing complaint, seeking police intervention to trace her daughter. The division bench took up the case on March 7 and scheduled the next hearing for March 10.
"When the case was heard today, the court was informed that the girl had been found dead," said advocate P E Sajal, who represented Prabhavathi.
Expressing strong disapproval, the bench remarked that the delay in finding the girl pointed to a lack of seriousness in the investigation. "The court questioned whether this negligence was because the girl belonged to a socially and economically backward family. It also asked if the police would have acted differently had she been the daughter of a VIP," said advocate Sajal. Shreya’s father, Priyesh, is a daily wage labourer, while her mother works under the MGNREGS. The bench reminded the police that the law treats every citizen equally, whether they are the President of India or a common person.
Inspector Vinod Kumar stated that police had been certain the girl had not left Merkala forest, as their phones last pinged off a tower in the area. "We expanded our search based on local inputs suggesting they might have gone to Madikeri, but we remained confident they were in the forest. Over 100 officers were deployed to comb the area, assisted by drones and the K9 squad," he said. He attributed the delay in locating them to dense undergrowth and the absence of any foul smell.
However, residents pointed out that the police intensified the search using drones and a dog squad only on March 8, a day after the High Court took up the habeas corpus petition.
The bodies of Shreya and Pradeep were handed over to their families on March 10 after autopsies at Government Medical College, Kannur, in Pariyaram.
Paivalige grama panchayat's Kudal ward member Ashoka Bhandary said preliminary reports suggested suicide, with no signs of foul play.
Shreya was cremated at Cherugoli crematorium in Mangalpady panchayat, 15 km from her home, while Pradeep was cremated at his residence in Mandekappu on Monday afternoon, he added.