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Now in its early forties, Sanjeet Pandey has silently resolved more than 200 cases of missing persons, an amazing feat in a state where many disappear without a trace.
Since 2008, Haldar Sanjeet Pandey has been rooted in the desk of missing persons of the department, where he has grown up to become more than a name. (Image: News18)
In the hills of Shillong, with the fog, in the middle of the old pines and the winding lanes of the capital of Meghalaya, a man whose work title barely does justice to the impact he has made works. Havaldar Sanjeet Kumar Pandey, or directed with love as “Pandey Ji”, is just another police in the police machinery: it is a lifeguard for hundreds of families shattered by the sudden disappearance of a loved one.
In a humid noon in April, within the silent corridors of the crime branch of Meghalaya, Pandey Ji feels agitated on a thick stack of case files. He is working on a new advantage, a critical case that worries the leg during the week. While gently asked me to wait, it is clear that it is in the midst of connecting points that no one else seems to see. This scene is too familiar. Since 2008, Pandey has been rooted in the desk of missing persons of the department, where he has grown up to become more than a name: he has become a lighthouse of hope.
Now in its early forties, Sanjeet Pandey has silently resolved more than 200 cases of missing persons, an amazing feat in a state where many disappear without a trace. The people of Meghalaya, especially Shillong, not only know him, trust him. They see it when all the other doors have closed.
“I still remember my first case,” he recalls. “A woman came to me from a remote village. Her son was missing and sat here every day, crying in silence. The case tok months, but I found her son. When I gave her, she touched my feet and cried. That moment. Forever.”
Since that day, Pandey has rejected all promotions and advantages, not because it is not interested or proud, but because it is driven by something deeper, a sense of purpose. “The smile of a gathered family is worth more than an official appreciation,” he says, the eyes fixed in a photo of a resolved case caught his desk.
Working with limited resources, he or finance parts of the investigations. “I am not staying in the hours of service or lunch holidays when someone’s son is out there, hoping to be found,” he says. “At first, nobody gave the thesis cases much importance. Many were unsolved after the first research round. But things are now changing, more people are intensifying.”
According to the data of the Police Superintendent office, East Khasi Hills, an average of 249.2 people disappear every year in Meghalaya since 2013. Many remain without roots.
Among the most difficult cases, Pandey remembers one since 2021, duration of the Covid-19 pandemic peak. “A 14 -year -old boy had disappeared. Monitoring of anything during closing was a nightmare. But a slight advantage of Assam brought me to Guwahati. The child had escaped in a medicine. I gave a back to a table. Imagine the agony of a father who has lost his son,” he says.
Despite the psychological cost, it continues to flinch, driven by the belief that some have to worry enough not to surrender. “It’s not about rank. It’s not about power,” he says. “These are people. We are here to serve them.”
In a world obsessed with hierarchy, promotions and personal gains, Havaldar Sanjeet Pandey is an extraordinary atypical. While others pursue success, pursue missing people. In the silence of Meghalaya forests, the noise of crowded bus terminals and the forgotten corners of the cities, Pandey Ji is always listening, always looking for medals, but for hope, for families and the sacred act of bringing home.
- Location:
Shillong, India, India
