THIS is with reference to the report ‘Girl declared slain by cops returns after two years (April 29). Just imagine the agony and stress of the parents who missed their daughter during this long period just because of poor investigation by the local police.

This failure of the law-enforcement agencies to effectively investigate the disappearance of a four-year-old child represents a grave miscarriage of justice and a huge stain on the performance of Punjab Police. Such fiascos not only undermine public trust in the police, but also bring forth systemic flaws within the criminal justice system.

Adan Fatima, now six-and-a-half years old, had gone missing on Dec 22, 2021, while playing in the street near her home in Dhadhi village of Sahiwal district. The police at the time registered a case against unknown persons and arrested a youth named Muzamil, accusing him of killing Adan and throwing her body in the canal.

The district police officer claimed that the kidnapping case had been solved. After the family approached the Lahore High Court (LHC), the police were directed to complete the investigation on the whereabouts of the girl.

In the meantime, Muzamil secured bail after 15 days as the police did not pursue the case. After the change of the investigation officer, a fresh challan was filed against Muzamil, but before he could be re-arrested, Adan surfaced safe and sound. The girl informed her family that she lived in a seminary run by a woman and lived there safely until she was dropped by two unidentified persons on a motorcycle near her home.

Truly, the whole episode points to inadequate training and protocols specific to missing child cases that hamper efforts to gather timely and actionable intelligence. Furthermore, factors such as the child’s socioeconomic status or family background influence the police response. These biases result in overlooked evidence, dismissive attitudes towards the family members and a failure to explore all possible leads.

Justice can only be served if the law-enforcement agencies adopt protocols that ensure thorough, unbiased and coordinated investigations. This appears to be a tall task for the police department given its faulty functioning.

Fawad Hashmey
Lahore

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2024