Woman, son among five of theft gang arrested in Jharkhand
Medininagar (PTI): Five members of an inter-state theft gang, including a woman and her son, were arrested along with stolen jewellery worth Rs 4 lakh in Jharkhand’s Palamu district on Tuesday, a police officer said.
The accused were apprehended from different locations: three in Chainpur area and the remaining ones in Medininagar.
Superintendent of Police Reeshma Ramesan said, “The arrested people were wanted in 14 theft cases registered at Medininagar, Chainpur, Garhwa police stations in Jharkhand, and Dudhi police station in Uttar Pradesh.”
Those arrested include a 45-year-old woman and her son who is 19. Others are aged 23, 19, and 18 years.
The SP said that another woman member of the gang is absconding, and the police are searching for her.
The gang members are drug addicts, Ramesan said.
The gang had sold the jewellery stolen from shops and houses to a goldsmith in Ranchi, and contact has been established with the police in the state capital for assistance in the investigation, the SP said.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
