Mumbai: The Bombay High Court pulled up the Mumbai Police over the lack of progress in tracing a youth who has been missing for over 18 months, questioning why his photographs had never been circulated through media and directing the police to form a dedicated team to investigate the case.
Petition by Missing Boy's Father
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad was hearing a petition filed by Pyaremiyan Qureshi, whose son has been missing since January 11, 2025, when a missing complaint was lodged at RCF Police Station in Chembur. The petitioner alleged that despite repeated follow-ups, the investigation had made no meaningful progress.
Expressing concern, the bench asked the police whether they had publicised the missing boy's photograph through print or electronic media. When the prosecutor replied in the negative, the court remarked, “This is Mumbai Police. You compare yourself to the Interpol. You don't know how to put ads in the media?”
Young Boy Needs Focused Attention
The court also observed that missing person cases require focused attention. “You have a team to search out for this person. A general SHO or investigating officer is handling several murder and assault cases, and by the way, he will also investigate this case. A young boy is missing. A father is looking out for his boy,” the bench said on July 16.
Petitioner's advocate M.A. Khan urged the court to transfer the probe to another agency or senior officer, saying the family had been waiting for over one-and-a-half years. “We are losing hope. Whether the boy is alive or not, we do not know. Every time we approach the police, they ask us for clues. We cannot investigate; they have to investigate,” he submitted.
Additional Public Prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh sought time, stating that information also had to be circulated outside Maharashtra and that senior officers would look into the matter. She informed the court that a team of police officers would be formed to investigate the case.
The bench directed the petitioner to produce fresh photographs of his son and details of the family's domicile in Uttar Pradesh so that the police could publish the photographs in print and electronic media, including newspapers in the family's home state.
The high court will hear the matter next week.
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