RANCHI: In an unprecedented move in Jharkhand, an entire police station was suspended for deliberate negligence in handling a case. A total of 28 personnel were penalised for failing to trace a missing woman for nine months.
The breakthrough came only after the Jharkhand High Court intervened, leading to the recovery of her skeletal remains and the arrest of her boyfriend.
Notably, on July 24, 2025, Rekha Devi lodged a missing person complaint for her 18-year-old daughter, Pushpa Mahto, at Pindrajora police station. Despite nearly nine months of efforts, the police failed to trace her, prompting the family to move the Jharkhand High Court.
During the hearing, the court pulled up the police over their lacklustre attitude towards the case, leading to the appearance of officials from the DGP to the district SP. Following the court’s intervention, the police solved the case within a day—recovering the victim’s skeletal remains and arresting the accused.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday night, the Bokaro SP said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to probe the matter, had been issued specific directives which were not adhered to.
“During the course of the investigation, the police personnel were working to undermine the victim's position and extend undue favour to the accused. The conduct of all the police personnel appeared highly suspicious,” the Bokaro SP said.
Furthermore, in an effort to weaken the case, the officers accepted money from the accused and even partied with them, he added.
“The confidentiality of the case was compromised, and the reputation of the police force was tarnished. It is for these reasons that they have been placed under suspension,” the SP said.
According to the SP, the SIT, during the investigation, thoroughly examined both technical and human evidence. Mobile Call Detail Records (CDRs) and subsequent interrogation revealed that Pushpa Mahto had been in contact with Dinesh Kumar Mahto for approximately the past three years.
Acting on suspicion, the investigative team took Dinesh into custody and subjected him to rigorous interrogation, during which he confessed to the crime. The accused disclosed that the woman had been constantly pressuring him to marry her, causing him significant mental distress, which led him to hatch a conspiracy to murder her.
The accused informed the police that on July 21, 2025, Pushpa had visited Chas College to enrol in an undergraduate programme. In accordance with his premeditated plan, Dinesh also went there.
Under the pretext of engaging in conversation, he lured her to a secluded, bushy area situated approximately 1.5 kilometres behind the college. There, he stabbed her to death. After committing the murder, he concealed the body in the bushes, discarded the blood-stained knife along the way, and returned home.