M A I N   N E W S

Cops confess to beating kid to death, arrested
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 22
The murder of Chetan, an eight-year-old migrant kid who was thrown out of a running car along with his friend Bhola by certain unidentified car-borne miscreants on the Ladowali Road here last night, took a new turn as investigations revealed that they were taken into illegal custody by the Bhargo Camp police chowki in charge and Chetan died of torture inflicted by the former and two of his subordinates, who have confessed to having committed the crime.

Badly injured Bhola and Chetan, aged between 8-10 years and suspected to be migrant kids from Uttar Pradesh, were thrown out of a running car in mysterious circumstances. Subsequently the police authorities and a large number of people who had converged on the Ladowali Road found that Chetan had died while Bhola was in critical condition. Bhola, who was in a semi-conscious state when he was admitted to the local Civil Hospital, had murmured that they were picked up by “somebody” from near the Nakodar Chowk — a statement which proved to be wrong during the investigation, which found that both were allegedly overpowered by one Dr Sikandar Lal during the marriage ceremony of the latter’s daughter at Model House based Royal Marriage Palace on January 20 and were subsequently handed over to the Bhargo Camp police chowki authorities as Dr Sikandar Lal and his family members suspected that the kids had stolen Rs 87,000 during the marriage.

According to the SSP, Mr Paramjit Gill, the two boys were subjected to inhuman torture at the chowki by the chowki in charge Sub-Inspector Ravi Kumar, Head Constable Jarnail Singh and SPO Resham Singh, which coupled with the prevailing biting cold wave, resulted in the death of Chetan. In their bid to hush up the matter after they realised that one of the kids had died, the cops bundled them in the car of Ravi Kumar and threw them out on the Ladowali Road last evening. “To make them confess the crime, police officials beat them up with lathis,” said Mr Gill adding that the accused has been arrested and a case had been registered against them under Sections 302 and 307 of the IPC. He said Bhola had wrongfully stated that they were picked up from the Nakodar Chowk area most likely out of fear.

The needle of suspicion, according to Mr Gill, turned towards cops after the police authorities went through cases of theft with possible involvement of children and complaints regarding such cases. He said the guilty cops had confessed to their crime after they joined the investigation. “We won’t spare if we find that the marriage palace owner and the doctor had beaten up the kids,” said Mr Gill adding that since it was a case of custodial death, the post mortem of Chetan would be video filmed as per the directions of the NHRC.