The credibility of Jalandhar Police has come under sharp public scrutiny once again after a 13-year-old girl was found murdered in Paras Estate, with residents accusing the Basti Bawa Khel police of failing to act when it mattered most.
This fresh outrage comes a month after the Phillaur SHO scandal, where a suspended station house officer was booked for serious misconduct in a case involving a minor. Together, both incidents have raised troubling questions about whether negligence within the district police has become a pattern rather than an exception.
According to residents, the girl went missing around 4:30pm on Saturday. Locals around 7pm informed the police that she had last been seen entering a neighbour’s house and CCTV footage reportedly supported this.
Police arrived around 9pm and searched the house but failed to locate her, despite the body later being recovered from the bathroom. At around 9:30 pm, frustrated by the police response, residents entered the house on their own and found the girl’s body, sparking chaos, anger and a tense standoff that continued past midnight.
BJP leader Sheetal Angural also reached the spot and criticize the police, alleging that a timely and thorough search could have saved her life.
The incident has intensified public anger at a time when the district police are already dealing with the fallout of the Phillaur SHO case. The former SHO, suspended last month, was booked after serious allegations surfaced regarding his conduct with the mother of a minor victim and his alleged delays in handling the case. The matter prompted the Punjab State Child Rights Protection Commission to seek accountability not only from the SHO but also from senior officers who failed to supervise him properly.
The case highlighted deep gaps in the system, where sensitive complaints involving minors were allegedly mishandled until public pressure forced action.
Residents said that suspension of ASI Mangat Ram, Leather Complex Chowki incharge, who led the inspection of the accused Harminder Singh house, and failed to locate the girl, came only after videos of the locals condemning police action had gone viral.
With another minor’s case now shaking the city, locals, social activists argue that the police leadership cannot ignore the repeated lapses any longer. From delayed FIRs to incomplete searches, from mishandled investigations to ignored public complaints, the pattern has become too consistent to dismiss as isolated mistakes.
"Saturday’s incident has amplified demands for accountability, with residents insisting that the department must address not just this case but the larger culture of negligence that recent controversies have revealed. Though, police say investigation is underway, but for the people of Jalandhar, the question is no longer what happened on Saturday night — it is why police failed to act in time", said Kavita Joshi, a social activist.