Orissa high court directs Puri SP to form STF to trace missing toddler

The Orissa High Court has directed the Puri Superintendent of Police to form a special task force to investigate the alleged kidnapping of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in December 2023. Expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of progress, the court emphasized the child’s welfare and ordered personal monitoring of the probe, with a progress report due by March 16, 2026.