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Haryana: CBI takes over probe, registers FIR in Panipat girl’s disappearance case
The Haryana Police dismissed Anu Kumari’s disappearance case as a runaway marriage, assuring her family that she would return
Acting on the Punjab and Haryana high court’s directive, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR under Section 365 of the IPC (kidnapping with intent to secretly confine) in the disappearance case of Anu Kumari from Panipat. The high court ordered the CBI to take over the probe into the disappearance of Anu Kumari, 20, a B.Com third-year student, who went missing from Panipat in August 2016. The order follows allegations by her mother, Kanta Devi, that the Haryana Police mishandled the case, failed to act on evidence, and ignored crucial leads, allowing the trail to go cold.
The high court, in its order dated February 24, 2025, transferred the investigation of the FIR dated August 9, 2016, registered under Section 365 (kidnapping) of the IPC at Chandni Bagh police station, Panipat, to the CBI. The case has now been entrusted to inspector Gurpreet Singh of the CBI’s special crime branch, Chandigarh.
As per the petition, Anu Kumari left her home on August 8, 2016, around 3pm to collect clothes from a local shop. Her brother, Shubham, dropped her near the shop before heading to tuition. However, Anu never reached the shop, and her phone was found to be unreachable.
Initially, the police dismissed the case as a runaway marriage and assured the family that Anu would return on her own. However, growing suspicious, Kanta Devi and her husband started their own investigation.
Their inquiries revealed that Anu was last seen with two men—one of whom was married with two children. They later learned that these individuals took Anu to Delhi on separate occasions, where a fight allegedly broke out between them. The family also retrieved Anu’s call records, which showed frequent calls between her and one of the suspects.
Despite bringing this information to the police, Kanta Devi claimed that no concrete action was taken. She further alleged that when she and her husband confronted the suspects, they received threats of dire consequences.
Police inaction and court’s intervention
Despite multiple complaints, including one to the superintendent of police, Panipat, on August 12, 2016, Kanta Devi claimed that the police deliberately stalled the investigation. She alleged that crucial time was lost, significantly reducing the chances of tracing Anu. The court also observed that police concluded the investigation by presenting a chargesheet without tracing Anu.
After hearing arguments, the high court found serious lapses in the police investigation and ruled that the CBI should take over the probe to ensure an impartial investigation. “It is evident that police conducted an investigation in a casual manner. Facts and circumstances of the case are covered under exceptional circumstances, when the court in order to prevent miscarriage of justice should direct transfer of investigation to CBI,” said the court.
The high court in its order made critical observations regarding the negligence and inaction of Haryana Police in investigating Kumari’s disappearance. The court noted that despite Kanta Devi providing specific leads, including the names of two suspects, call records, and last-known locations, the police failed to act on these critical pieces of evidence. The court also found that the police questioned the suspects briefly but did not pursue further interrogation or collect additional evidence.
“Petitioner was running pillar to post seeking justice for her daughter. There are status reports called from time to time during the pendency of present petition and till date official respondents (police) filed nine status reports as referred above and during this entire period failed to locate the whereabouts of Anu Kumari nor could reach at any logical conclusion,” court observed.
