THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, January 19: The safe recovery of 12-year-old Kanhaiya Kumar, missing for the past 61 days, marks another major success in Ranchi Police’s intensified crackdown on child trafficking and missing children cases, officials said on Sunday.
Kanhaiya was traced and rescued from Koderma following a sustained multi-state operation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has been at the forefront of a broader police drive launched after the recovery of siblings Ansh and Anshika earlier this month.
Part of sustained police campaign
Senior police officials said the recovery of Kanhaiya is not an isolated breakthrough but part of a coordinated enforcement campaign against organised gangs involved in abducting and trafficking vulnerable children across Jharkhand and neighbouring states.
After Ansh and Anshika, who had gone missing from Dhurwa on January 2, were safely rescued on January 14, the interrogation of the accused in that case led police to uncover a large inter-state child trafficking network. Subsequent operations resulted in the rescue of 12 other children and the arrest of 15 accused, prompting police to widen the scope of investigations into pending missing children cases.
SSP monitored operation personally
Police sources said Ranchi SSP Rakesh Ranjan received specific intelligence indicating that Kanhaiya was being held in Koderma. Acting on the input, a Ranchi Police team, in coordination with Koderma Police, carried out a swift operation and safely recovered the child. The SSP personally monitored the rescue effort.
A senior officer said the SIT had been conducting raids across seven states, tracking possible links between missing children cases and organised trafficking groups.
How Kanhaiya went missing
Kanhaiya, a resident of the Ormanjhi area of Ranchi, went missing on the evening of November 22. He had gone to play football near SS Plus-Two High School at Ormanjhi Block Chowk and later briefly returned to Mamta Market, where his mother runs a pani puri stall.
After eating some chaat, he told his mother he would return shortly, but never came back. Despite extensive searches by family members and locals, there was no trace of him, leading to the registration of a missing person case and the launch of a police investigation.
Trafficking gang exposed in Ansh–Anshika case
The broader investigation gained momentum after police arrested Nabha Kharwar and Soni Kumari, accused in the Ansh–Anshika kidnapping case. Their interrogation exposed a professional human trafficking gang operating across Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh.
According to police, the gang targeted children from poor families, slums, and garbage collection areas. Victims were abducted opportunistically and either sold or forced into begging, theft, pickpocketing, prostitution, and other illegal activities. If buyers were not immediately available, the children were kept for years and falsely projected as family members.
12 children rescued, 15 accused arrested
During coordinated SIT raids, police recovered children from Silli (Ranchi), Kothar (Ramgarh), and Bariatu (Latehar) and matched them with missing FIRs registered across police stations. Several of the rescued children had been missing for one to three years, with some trafficked to the Aurangabad district of Bihar and parts of West Bengal.
So far, 15 accused, including Nabha Kharwar and Soni Kumari, have been arrested. Police also seized a white Maruti Suzuki car (JH24L-8382) and other incriminating materials. The accused couple remain in police custody in connection with Dhurwa Police Station Case No. 01/26, and further disclosures are expected.
Drive to continue
Senior officials said investigations are ongoing to determine whether Kanhaiya’s case has any direct linkage with the trafficking network. The SIT continues raids across Jharkhand and neighbouring states, with the focus on recovering more missing children and dismantling the trafficking chain completely.
Police said recent recoveries reflect a decisive and sustained push against child trafficking, with more breakthroughs expected in the coming days.
