Kerala High Court orders CBI probe into soldier's disappearance from 14 years ago
The Kerala High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the 14-year-old disappearance of Subash Chandra Bose, a rifleman with the Tripura State Rifles. Justice G. Girish issued the order on a petition filed by the soldier's father seeking a CBI investigation. The court stated that civil society owed a responsibility to stand by soldiers who protect citizens if they faced personal crises, noting that the peaceful sleep of civilians came "at the cost of sleepless nights, vigilance and sacrifice of the soldier."
Bose, a native of Vengoor in Ernakulam, went missing on April 4, 2012, while returning from leave to Guwahati by train. His father last saw him at Ernakulam railway station on April 3, 2012. The next day, Bose called from an unfamiliar mobile number to report that the train had reached Visakhapatnam and that he was unwell. However, on April 10, 2012, the Commandant of Tripura State Rifles informed his father that Bose had not reported back to duty after his leave period ended.
The CBI had initially contended that the court lacked territorial jurisdiction since Bose went missing between Visakhapatnam and Guwahati, and argued there was minimal possibility of tracing the missing person after 14 years. The court rejected these objections, holding that under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, a court with local jurisdiction over places forming part of a journey may order an inquiry. The State government stated it had no objection to handing over the case to the CBI.
