Jharkhand: Police recover siblings missing since January 2

“On the morning of January 14, the Ranchi Police conducted a large-scale raid and search operation and safely recovered both children from Ramgarh (Chitarpur). The children were identified and verified by their parents. Two individuals associated with an interstate gang involved in this case have been taken into custody. The Ranchi Police are conducting further investigations to identify all members and locations of this interstate gang and are carrying out large-scale raids,” DGP Tadasha Mishra said.

Police have recovered siblings Ansh and Anshika, who had been missing from the Mausi Bari locality of the state capital since January 2, on Wednesday, from the Chitarpur area of Ramgarh district, and arrested a couple in connection with the case, officials familiar with the matter said.

Police have recovered siblings Ansh and Anshika, who had been missing from the Mausi Bari locality since January 2. (HT Photo)

Those arrested were identified as Soni Kumari (20), daughter of Anthony Kherwar, a resident of Kothar under Ramgarh police station, and her husband Nav Kherwar alias Surya (24), son of Chabila Sahban Kherwar, a resident of Baaru village in Aurangabad district, Bihar.

State director general of police (DGP) Tadasha Mishra confirmed the development while addressing a press conference at the state police headquarters. The siblings were present with their parents during the press conference.

“On the morning of January 14, the Ranchi Police conducted a large-scale raid and search operation and safely recovered both children from Ramgarh (Chitarpur). The children were identified and verified by their parents. Two individuals associated with an interstate gang involved in this case have been taken into custody. The Ranchi Police are conducting further investigations to identify all members and locations of this interstate gang and are carrying out large-scale raids,” DGP Mishra said.

DGP Mishra said that police officials who played a role in the recovery of the siblings, Ansh and Anshika, will be recommended for the DG Disc in the coming days. A DG Disc (Director-General’s Disc) is an internal service award recognising exceptional performance.

However, the DGP did not share details on how the siblings were recovered, who helped recover them, or who would receive the reward of ₹4 lakh ( ₹2 lakh each) announced for providing clues about the missing children. She also did not share details of the gang involved in the crime or its modus operandi.

“The matter is under investigation. The details will be shared only after interrogation of those detained,” she said.

Meanwhile, the state unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) claimed its organisation’s role in the recovery.

“Our Bajrang Dal Chitarpur unit workers recovered Ansh and Anshika from Chitarpur. We will honour them by organising a programme at our office in Kishoreganj, Ranchi, once they complete the legal formalities,” Prakash Ranjan, state publicity and circulation head of the Hindu organisation, said.

Ranchi unit Bajrang Dal head Vikram Raja confirmed the claim, saying the workers who played a role in the recovery are associated with the Chitarpur unit of Bajrang Dal.

“Chitarpur district convenor Sachin, along with Bablu Sahu and Sunny, recovered the siblings. The trio got a clue on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, they reached the rented house where the children were staying and took them into their custody. Later, they handed over the children to the Chitarpur police station OC, who handed them over to Ramgarh SP Ajay Kumar,” Raja said, sharing a picture of the children with his organisation’s workers.

Raja expressed concern over the non-disclosure of the names of his organisation’s workers. “Though Bajrang Dal played its role in the recovery of the children, its name was not mentioned during the press conference,” he said.

The case had assumed significance due to sustained pressure from all political parties. Union minister for women and child development Annapurna Devi visited the children’s residence and urged the DGP to take swift and appropriate action.

Besides the Union minister, local leaders from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had also agitated for the children’s recovery. A Dhurwa bandh was observed on January 11 to mount pressure on the police.

CID ADG Manoj Kaushik had issued a hue and cry notice to alert over 17,000 police stations across the country to trace the children. A 40-member SIT was constituted for the investigation, and police teams were sent to Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal and Maharashtra as part of the search operation.