Gujarat HC orders CBI probe into missing girl case

The Gujarat High Court has ordered a CBI probe into the case of a girl missing since October 2014, observing that the investigation carried out by the state CID was not satisfactory.
The father of the girl, who was 16 years old when she went missing from Ahmedabad in 2014 after leaving for tuition classes with her friend in the neighbourhood, had moved a petition in the high court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the matter.
In a recent order, Justice J B Pardiwala asked the CBI to investigate the case.
"The case prima facie is one of human trafficking. The investigation should be taken up by the CBI very seriously. One does not know in what condition the daughter of the writ applicant must be as on date," the court said.

"One is not sure whether she is still alive or has been killed. She might have been forced into prostitution. This is something very serious and I am not satisfied with the report placed on record to show that all possible steps are being taken to find the missing girl," the judge said.
The girl had left for tuition classes along with her friend. Thereafter, they went missing. Subsequently, an FIR was lodged at the city's Kagdapith police station.

After four days, the girl's friend returned.
However, when the friend was asked by the police about the missing girl, she gave evasive replies and appeared to be hiding facts, the petitioner claimed.

The missing girl's family members moved the high court which transferred the matter to the state Criminal Investigation Department in September 2015.
However, the girl's father, in another petition filed before the high court, said no effective steps had been taken by the respondent (CID).
In the second petition, the girl's father said his daughter's friend and the latter's mother were not interrogated properly.
"There are contradictions, improvements and variations in their statements," the petitioner alleged.
He also claimed that the financial condition of the family of his daughter's friend improved after she returned.
In its submission, the CID had said the investigation was proceeding in the right direction, but despite best efforts, the probe agency was not being able to make any headway.