M A I N   N E W S

5 held for bid to sacrifice child
Our Correspondent

Jalandhar, August 6
The district police has unveiled a tale of abduction of an 11-month-old infant for sacrifice before a goddess to fulfil the wish of a childless woman, with the arrest of five persons. The child has been restored to his parents by the police.

Mr Gaurav Yadav, SSP, stated here today, that Pinda, a resident of Talwan village, in his complaint to the Bilga police on July 31 alleged that his son Pawandeep has been abducted by some unidentified persons from his house. During the course of investigation, the needle of suspicion fell on his neighbour Sodhi, who had also been missing since the day of the kidnapping. Police teams were despatched to various locations to apprehend Sodhi.

Mr Yadav said that five persons were arrested along the Sutlej river bundh this morning. They were identified as Sodhi, Tarsem and Mindo of Talwan, Darsho of Mehatpur and Piaro of Ganna Pind.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that Darsho, who had reportedly developed illicit relations with Sodhi and had no child, was instigating Sodhi to do something in this regard. The couple came in contact with Piaro, who was stated to be practising black magic. She reportedly told them that a child would be born to Darsho if they sacrificed a child at the altar of the goddess.

Sodhi, alleged in consultation with his father and grandmother, hatched a conspiracy and abducted Pawandeep. The sacrifice of the child was delayed for some days as Piaro told them to wait for a particular position of the moon on a particular date.

The personal search of Sodhi has led to the recovery of 5 kg of opium and a separate case under the NDPS Act has been registered in this regard.

The arrested persons were produced in the court of the Magistrate.

Man tied to tree for 7 years
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Talwandi Malian (Moga), Aug 6
In a shocking case, a 35-year-old mentally challenged man of this village, 50 km from Ludhiana, has been chained with a tree for the past more than seven years allegedly by his family members.

While the family claims that Jagtar Singh has been tied to the tree with a chain used to shackle animals all these years because he was insane and a threat to them and the village, villagers reveal that he was subjected to this treatment by his younger brother who had an eye on the victim’s share of the family’s property.

The Tribune team was witness to the miserable condition of the chained man in the backyard of the family’s house at this village, situated on the border of Ludhiana and Moga districts, here this forenoon.

Even after recent reports in the vernacular press, the family members have not released him. A police party from Dharamkot police station in Moga district also visited the house today but returned without freeing the man. Policemen said they would report the situation to their officers.

The man was stinking like an animal. A heavy chain was tied to one of his feet. He is living under the tree in an area of less than four square feet. When The Tribune team managed to reach him after facing resistance from the family members, the man continued to sit quietly and coolly. Contrary to the claims of the family that he was violent and would attack, the man remained calm. However, he did not reply to queries and turned his back to the persons questioning him.

While Harbans Singh, father of the shackled man, his daughter and the wife of his younger son Gurdip Singh maintained that they were not doing anything wrong as Jagtar Singh was insane and violent, Surit Kaur, the mother, pleaded to this correspondent in isolation to rescue her son from this captivity. Unable to control her tears, the old woman said her son should be treated in a hospital. But she was clearly fearful of her other family members, especially her younger son. She requested that Jagtar be released before her other son came home. The woman had a number of injury marks on her face. She stopped talking when other family members came near her.

The family claimed that Jagtar was not normal since his birth and had later fallen into bad company. Harbans Singh, his father, said he used to beat them up. He also claimed that he used to sit for hours at the village bus stand and attack people also. So, they had chained him.

On being asked why the man was not given medical treatment, he said he was given electric shocks in a city hospital. They also took him to some ‘fakir’ but his son did not become normal.

Speaking on a condition of anonymity, some villagers revealed that the victim was partially mentally challenged since his childhood, but never harmed any one. As far as they could recollect, he used to work hard in fields.

However, his behaviour changed, when his brother Gurdip Singh got married some 10 years ago. Within a few months, the family started tying him to a tree and whenever he was freed, he used to attack people. The villagers claimed they tried to intervene in the matter initially, but the family told them to mind their own business.