Missing boy turns into political football

BATHINDA:The alleged arrest of a youth by Dayalpura police after an innocuous complaint has put the Bathinda police in an embarrassing situation as the youth has disappeared under mysterious circumstances and political leaders of the area are trying to get mileage out of the issue.
In a complaint to senior district officials and the Punjab Human Rights Commission, Bhajan Kaur, a resident of Dayalpura village, alleged that her handicapped son Teja Singh (25) was arrested by the police on April 25 at the instance of Rampura Phool MLA Gurpreet Singh Kangar.The police tortured the boy to death and disposed of his dead body, she alleged.Supporting the woman is former power minister Sikander Singh Malooka, who is a bete noire of Kangar and lost Rampura Phool seat to the latter in the assembly elections held in February.
Kangar declined he has anything to do with Teja Singh. But the district police claimed that Teja Singh was called at the police post at Dayalpura after one Swaran Singh in the village made a complaint against him for using foul language. But after just a reprimand, Teja Singh was allowed to go home. ‘‘But when the political leaders here are out to extract political mileage out of a petty issue, mountain is being made out of a molehill,’’ said a police officer.
Refuting the allegations of Bhajan Kaur that the boy was missing and killed in police custody on April 25,Rampura Phool DSP Balbir Singh Khehra said that the boy, after leaving the police post on April 25 with his brother Jaggi, had stayed with his aunt (mausi) at Gaziana in Moga district on April 26-27 and left for another relative on April 28. ‘‘As the family of the boy is under influence of some political persons who have sensed a potential opportunity for creating embarrassment for the police, the boy went in seclusion to mislead the police,’’ said Janak Singh, the SHO of Dayalpura police post.
After the former power minister accompanied Bhajan Kaur to deputy commissioner and district police chief, the police deputed DSP Balbir Singh Khehra to inquire into the matter. A parallel magisterial inquiry has been started by the Rampura Phool sub divisional magistrate.
The DSP said that the mother and other family members of the boy were not coming forward to record their statements with him inspite of the fact that he had visited their house three times. But Mukhtiar Kaur, the aunt of the boy at Gaziana, has submitted to the inquiry officer that the boy stayed at her house on April 26-27.