Gwalior Police struggle to trace Ritesh as disappearance crosses six-month mark

The search for three-year-old Ritesh Pal remains a mystery for Gwalior Police despite drone surveillance and extensive family questioning.

It has been exactly six months since three-year-old Ritesh Pal vanished from the Mohanpur area of Gwalior, and for his mother, Sapna, the ticking clock is becoming unbearable. What started as a routine afternoon on November 1, 2025, has turned into one of the most challenging missing person cases for the local police, who—despite a high recovery rate for minors—remain empty-handed in this particular investigation.

Missing from the doorstep

The incident occurred near the Kali Mata temple in Mohanpur, under the jurisdiction of the Murar police station. Ritesh was reportedly playing with other children outside his shanty at around 12:30 PM. His mother stepped out half an hour later to give him milk, only to find the play area empty.

By the evening of November 1, a formal missing person report was lodged. Since the location borders a dense forest patch, the initial suspicion was that the child might have wandered into the woods.

Extensive search operations

In the days following the disappearance, the Gwalior Police launched a massive search operation. Over 100 personnel combed the nearby forest, supported by six specialized teams. Given the difficult terrain, drones were deployed to scan the area from the air.

"We left no stone unturned in the physical search of the vicinity," a senior official involved in the probe stated. However, despite ground-level cues and aerial surveillance, not a single piece of clothing or evidence was recovered from the forest.

Investigating family dynamics

As the physical search yielded no results, the investigation shifted toward personal and family angles. It surfaced that Ritesh’s parents, Dalbir Singh and Sapna, had been living separately for about eight months due to domestic disputes. Ritesh was staying with his mother at her paternal home.

Police scrutinized the movements of the mother, father, uncles, and grandparents. Every immediate relative has been questioned, sometimes repeatedly, to check for inconsistencies in their statements. Even a "love triangle" angle was explored due to the couple's estrangement, but that lead also reached a dead end.

Faith and the 'Mahadev' trial

In a desperate move suggested during the investigation, both sides of the family agreed to a traditional dispute-resolution method. On December 2, 2025, the families gathered at the Girgaon Mahadev (Magistrate Mahadev) temple to take an oath of innocence.

For two and a half hours, a "Mahapanchayat" was held where family members swore they had no knowledge of the child's whereabouts. While this offered a sense of closure to the village elders, it provided no legal or factual breakthrough for the police.

Legal battles and police claims

The case also reached the doors of the High Court. Ritesh’s father filed a habeas corpus petition, alleging that the child was being hidden by the mother. However, the court dismissed the petition, noting the mother’s legal right to the child’s custody and finding no evidence of illegal detention by her.

Gwalior SSP noted that while the district has an impressive record—recovering 106 out of 110 missing children this year—the Ritesh Pal missing case remains an anomaly. "The matter appears deeply rooted in family dynamics. It is a challenging case, but our efforts to recover the child continue," officials said.

A mother's fading hope

For Sapna, the legalities and statistics offer little comfort. Clutching a photo of Ritesh on her phone, she alleged that the investigation lacked urgency because of their socio-economic status. "If this were the child of a wealthy businessman, the results would have been different," she said, her voice breaking.

As of May 1, 2026, the file on the Ritesh Pal missing case remains open, with the Gwalior IG, Arvind Saxena, acknowledging the complexity of the mystery that has now entered its seventh month without a lead.