The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has sought response from the Central Bureau of Investigation on conducting a probe into the 2018 CRPF Jawan missing case. A. Deivakani, wife of N. Annadurai, filed a habeas corpus petition in 2020 claiming that her husband had gone missing.
A Division Bench of Justices V. Bharathidasan and J. Nisha Banu sought the response from the CBI after the State told the court that there was no breakthrough in the case. The court directed the Central agency to file a counter affidavit in two weeks.
In her petition, Ms. Deivakani said her husband was working with the paramilitary force as a head constable. He was transferred from Gadchiroli in Maharashtra to Chandigarh.
She said before reporting to Chandigarh station, he had taken a 20-day leave and visited them in Palayamkottai. On June 29, 2018, he boarded Delhi-bound Thirukkural Express and told them that he would contact them once he reached Delhi.
But, he did not contact her and whenever she tried calling him the phone remained switched off, Ms. Deivakani said. She enquired with a CRPF officer in Chandigarh and on July 2, 2018, she received information that her husband’s luggage had reached Delhi. But, she was told that her husband was missing.
A few days later she received an anonymous phone call informing her that her husband was safe and he would visit the family soon. The caller refused to give details of her husband’s whereabouts, she said.
She said she petitioned the Tirunelveli Collector and the Commissioner of Police. The case was referred to Palayamkottai police. The petitioner sought a direction to police authorities to secure her husband. The CBI was added as a respondent in the case.
