The entire lineup of 28 officers at a Bokaro police station faced suspension after the horrifying discovery of a missing girl’s skeletal remains. It has emerged that the victim’s ex-boyfriend admitted to her murder, allegedly motivated by his frustration over her rejection of marriage.
Ranchi/Bokaro: In an unprecedented move, all 28 personnel of a police station in Bokaro district were suspended on Sunday on charges of lax investigation in tracing an 18-year-old girl who went missing in July last year.
Pushpa Mahto’s skeletal remains were recovered on Saturday following the arrest of 26-year-old Dinesh Kumar Mahto, her ex-boyfriend, for murder.Police claimed that the accused and victim were in a relationship for nearly three years. Police said that Mahto confessed to have killed Pushpa near Chas college after she pressured him for marriage.The suspended officers are officer in-charge of Pindrajora police station Abhishek Ranjan, investigating officer Aniket Kumar and 26 others, including sub-inspectors, assistant SIs and constables.Breakthrough in the case arrived on Saturday after Jharkhand high court had criticised the DGP and Bokaro police over the unsatisfactory probe.SP of Bokaro, Harvinder Singh, who was also pulled up by the HC on Friday, claimed that the case was reported to police on July 24, 2025, but agreed it was only registered on Aug 4. Pushpa’s mother, Rekha Devi, had earlier claimed that they had gone to Pindrajora police station on July 21 when her daughter went missing but weren’t entertained.
The SP said that an internal probe revealed serious lapses and alleged misconduct by local police. “Not one, but all the cops at the thana failed to do their duty. In our probe so far, we have learnt that the accused was shielded after taking bribes in cash and kind for socialising (partying),” he said.The probe seemed to have started in earnest in Feb this year after Rekha filed an habeas corpus plea in HC. She claimed that despite several pleas to local police and providing circumstantial evidence about possible whereabouts of her daughter, nothing was done.Following successive HC hearings till April 7, efforts by the special investigation team (SIT) and a separate one-member committee headed by DIG Sandhaya Rani Mehta led to arrest of the accused on Saturday.After performing her daughter’s last rites, Rekha told TOI on Sunday that the fight is far from over. Hailing from daily wager’s family, Rekha demanded capital punishment not just for the accused but for the now suspended OC for failing them.She said, “They (police) kept playing with our case like a football. My daughter would have been alive if they had shown some seriousness. If it was a case involving any influential person, the entire police machinery would have worked overnight. Right from the start, ‘bada babu (OC) and his men tried to discourage and intimidate us through various means to stop pursuing the case because they were bribed by the accused.
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