Ranchi Children Missing: Two Siblings Vanish Near High-Security Zone, Police Investigation Underway
Ranchi: Around 10 months back, Sunil Kumar and Neetu Kumari, along with their three children — one aged five, another four and the youngest aged two-and-a-half years — migrated to Ranchi from Bihar’s Patna, with hopes of a better future — to earn a livelihood and provide better opportunities to their children. The family joined Sunil’s father, Dudesh Roy, who migrated around one and a half years earlier.
They settled in a slum near Mausibadi in Ranchi’s Dhurwa area and started building their lives brick by brick. Sunil started selling vegetables and milk in nearby markets, while Neetu took care of their children at home. As their life slowly started to take shape, everything was thrown into uncertainty after two of the children, five-year-old Ansh and his four-year-old sister Anshika, went missing last Friday.
The couple is now gripped by a week-long nightmare of anguish, frequent bouts of crying, frantic search efforts, and regular visits by neighbours and police.
The siblings stepped out of their home to buy biscuits from a local shop around 2:30 pm on Friday and did not return home. “They often go to the shop to buy chocolates and other stuff and return safely. So, I allowed them to go. It was my biggest mistake. I shouldn’t have allowed them,” Neetu told TOI, tightly holding her younger son and starting to cry, calling out her missing children’s names.
She kept pleading with everyone present at their modest accommodation to bring back the children at any cost. The women in the neighbourhood tried to console Neetu, but they couldn't.
The family had a full meal on Friday morning, but since then, the grief-stricken family could not have anything properly.
Dudesh, the children’s grandfather, said, “Sunil, Neetu and their children were at home on that afternoon. I was at a market. At about 3.30 pm, I got a call from Sunil, informing me about the children going missing. I rushed home and, along with neighbours, searched for them throughout the night. We are impatiently waiting for them to return.”
The incident has sent shockwaves to residents of the slum, which is located within a five-kilometre radius of the high-security zone that houses state police headquarters, chief minister’s secretariat, state assembly and the high court.
“The area is a high security zone housing several important offices of the state machinery. Two children going missing from such a place and having no information on their whereabouts for a week is serious. Had a similar incident happened with the families of the officers, they would have found out by now. But who cares about slum dwellers?” a resident of the locality rued.
Meanwhile, senior police officials, including Ranchi (city) SP Paras Rana, forensic teams and dog squads were investigating the case but failed to trace the siblings so far.
“A 15-member team has been formed to conduct raids at various places. CCTV footage of the area is being examined thoroughly. The photos of the duo have been uploaded on the national portal for missing children and also in related WhatsApp groups,” SP Rana said. Police have also announced a reward of Rs 51,000 to people providing any information to the police about the missing children.
They settled in a slum near Mausibadi in Ranchi’s Dhurwa area and started building their lives brick by brick. Sunil started selling vegetables and milk in nearby markets, while Neetu took care of their children at home. As their life slowly started to take shape, everything was thrown into uncertainty after two of the children, five-year-old Ansh and his four-year-old sister Anshika, went missing last Friday.
The couple is now gripped by a week-long nightmare of anguish, frequent bouts of crying, frantic search efforts, and regular visits by neighbours and police.
The siblings stepped out of their home to buy biscuits from a local shop around 2:30 pm on Friday and did not return home. “They often go to the shop to buy chocolates and other stuff and return safely. So, I allowed them to go. It was my biggest mistake. I shouldn’t have allowed them,” Neetu told TOI, tightly holding her younger son and starting to cry, calling out her missing children’s names.
She kept pleading with everyone present at their modest accommodation to bring back the children at any cost. The women in the neighbourhood tried to console Neetu, but they couldn't.
The family had a full meal on Friday morning, but since then, the grief-stricken family could not have anything properly.
Dudesh, the children’s grandfather, said, “Sunil, Neetu and their children were at home on that afternoon. I was at a market. At about 3.30 pm, I got a call from Sunil, informing me about the children going missing. I rushed home and, along with neighbours, searched for them throughout the night. We are impatiently waiting for them to return.”
The incident has sent shockwaves to residents of the slum, which is located within a five-kilometre radius of the high-security zone that houses state police headquarters, chief minister’s secretariat, state assembly and the high court.
“The area is a high security zone housing several important offices of the state machinery. Two children going missing from such a place and having no information on their whereabouts for a week is serious. Had a similar incident happened with the families of the officers, they would have found out by now. But who cares about slum dwellers?” a resident of the locality rued.
Meanwhile, senior police officials, including Ranchi (city) SP Paras Rana, forensic teams and dog squads were investigating the case but failed to trace the siblings so far.
“A 15-member team has been formed to conduct raids at various places. CCTV footage of the area is being examined thoroughly. The photos of the duo have been uploaded on the national portal for missing children and also in related WhatsApp groups,” SP Rana said. Police have also announced a reward of Rs 51,000 to people providing any information to the police about the missing children.
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