Ranchi, April 8 -- In a scathing rebuke of police conduct, Jharkhand High Court issued a stern warning to the state director general of police (DGP) over the alleged assault of a petitioner's relative in a missing case.

An HC advocate close to the matter said the warning was issued while hearing a habeas corpus petition concerning an 18-year-old girl from Bokaro, missing for last seven months.

The court expressed severe displeasure upon learning that Sampat Mahto, a relative of petitioner Rekha Devi (girl's mother), was allegedly summoned to Pindrajora police station and brutally assaulted. "The court asked why criminal contempt should not be initiated against Bokaro SP Harvinder Singh for this action," the advocate said.

Another...