Ranchi, May 13: Residents of Ranchi took to the streets demanding the recovery of 18-month-old Aditi Pandey, who has been missing since May 9. Angry locals and family members blocked the road at Kokar Chowk for nearly an hour, causing significant traffic disruption on the national highway.
Upon receiving reports of the blockade, the local police and traffic authorities arrived at the scene and attempted to divert vehicles through alternative routes.
Aditi Pandey disappeared around 4:30 PM near her home. After extensive searches yielded no results, her family filed a complaint at the Sadar police station. In response to the seriousness of the situation, Ranchi police formed multiple teams and announced a reward of ₹50,000 for information leading to her whereabouts.
Initial investigations suggested that the child might have fallen into a nearby large drain. Consequently, a joint search operation was launched by the NDRF, municipal corporation, and Ranchi police, covering the area from Kokar Khorhato to the Swarnrekha River in Namkum. The search operation continued for hours amidst mud, filth, and strong currents.
On Tuesday, a piece of meat and a bone were discovered near a drain in the Gadi Gaon area, raising concerns that they might belong to Aditi. However, the family questioned this claim, stating that doctors during the post-mortem identified the bone as belonging to an animal. They accused the police of steering the investigation towards the theory of the child falling into the drain, despite the lack of concrete evidence.
Currently, multiple police teams are actively searching for the missing girl.