HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has allowed a writ petition filed by M Appa Rao, father of missing CRPF constable M Srikanth, and quashed the order removing the constable from service. The court also directed the authorities to process and disburse admissible service and pensionary benefits to his legal heirs treating him as a “missing employee”. A bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin heard the petition challenging the removal order dated January 28, 2017.
Srikanth, a CRPF constable (general duty), went missing on June 1, 2015, while undergoing computer training at the Group Centre, CRPF, Jharoda Kalan, New Delhi. The training was part of a rehabilitation programme after he was declared unfit for combatised service due to amputation of his left leg.
The CRPF had treated Srikanth as a deserter and removed him from service. Despite police complaints, he has remained untraced for over a decade.
The bench observed that Srikanth went missing while he was under the control of the CRPF authorities and not from the custody of his family. It noted that records, registers and CCTV footage from the Group Centre for the relevant period were either weeded out or erased, and no material was produced to show that he had absconded or was traceable.