HC raps DMRC over missing teen case

New Delhi: The DMRC was pulled up by the Delhi high court for trying to “cover up” the “inefficiency and ineptitude” of its officials, who failed to locate a mentally-challenged woman after she was separated from her family while travelling on Metro.

The 19-year-old woman, who went missing on April 21, was on Monday found wandering in Rewari district of Haryana by a policeman who took her to a Child Welfare Committee where she is being sheltered, the court was on Tuesday told by the Delhi police.

The court also directed that standard operating procedure (SOP) be put in place to deal with such situations.

A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Najmi Waziri, while pleased by the efforts of the police and the “good Samaritan” who helped the woman, did not mince words when it came to how the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) conducted itself in the matter.

The bench told the DMRC that the responsibility of its officials was not limited to collection of revenue, but also includes providing safety and security to the nearly 30 lakh commuters who travel regularly by Metro.

The court was angered by the fact that the station controller of Adarsh Nagar station could not locate the woman, who was on the premises for nearly seven minutes, despite running past her, as per CCTV footage.

The bench said the DMRC officials “miserably failed” to inform the police when they came to know the woman has been separated from her family at the Jahangirpur Metro station.