The suspended police personnel colluded with the accused, and were even seen partying with him. They also took money from the accused, an official said.
The remains of the victim, including bones and hair, were recovered on Saturday. (Representative Image)
In a case that has raised serious questions about police conduct and investigation lapses, 28 police personnel have been suspended after the skeletal remains of an 18-year-old woman, missing for eight months, were recovered in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district.
The remains, including bones and hair, were found on Saturday in a secluded area near Chas College under the Pindrajora police station limits, Superintendent of Police Harvinder Singh said on Sunday.
Singh confirmed that 28 police personnel, including the officer-in-charge of Pindrajora police station, have been suspended for dereliction of duty in probing the young woman’s abduction and murder.
“The suspended police personnel colluded with the accused, and were even seen partying with him. They also breached confidentiality. Money was also transacted with the accused. Because of this, the image of the police has been tarnished among the common people,” Singh told PTI.
According to the SP, the accused was identified and apprehended after investigators analysed the victim’s mobile phone call detail records along with other technical inputs.
“During sustained interrogation based on technical, circumstantial and human evidence, the accused confessed to the crime,” he said.
Police said the victim and the accused had known each other for nearly three years. The woman had allegedly been pressuring him to marry her, which, according to the accused, led him to plot her murder.
Victim Was Stabbed To Death Last Year
On July 21 last year, when the victim went to Chas College to seek admission to an undergraduate course, the accused met her there and took her to an isolated spot about 1.5 km away, Singh said. He allegedly stabbed her to death, hid the body in nearby bushes and disposed of the blood-stained knife on his way back.
Following his confession, the accused led investigators to the crime scene, where police recovered 19 bone fragments, strands of hair, the victim’s clothes and the murder weapon.
The victim’s mother had lodged a complaint on July 24, alleging that her daughter had been kidnapped. However, a case was registered only on August 4, and that too against “unknown persons”.
Victim’s Mother Approached Jharkhand HC
The apparent delay and alleged mishandling of the case later drew judicial scrutiny after the mother approached the Jharkhand High Court. The court pulled up Director General of Police Tadasha Mishra over the alleged assault of a relative of the victim.
A division bench headed by Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad also questioned Mishra on why criminal action had not been initiated against the Superintendent of Police in connection with the reported lapses in the investigation.
Bokaro, India, India
April 12, 2026, 18:39 IST
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