M A I N   N E W S

Muktsar bodies: Evidence hints at rape, sexual abuse
Tribune News Service

Forensic experts collect evidence at Jagmeet Brar’s rice mill in Muktsar on Wednesday. — Photo by Kulbir Beera

Muktsar, January 10
A high-level probe was ordered today by the Chief Minister in the case of recovery of bodies of four children from a rice sheller here. Meanwhile, the police today concluded that it was a work of a sexual pervert who had kidnapped the four children and sexually abused them before strangulating them to death. The bodies of the four children were recovered from an abandoned rice sheller owned by former Congress MP Jagmeet Singh Brar. The evidence on the spot of the crime suggested that the accused had raped one of the girls and had attempted to sexually abuse a girl and a boy, the police said.

The police rounded up around 10 persons, including a woman, for questioning in this regard even as no arrests had been made till the filing of the report. The police also got in touch with the Noida police to ascertain if there were any connections between the two incidents, as several similarities were found in the two incidents.

It was established that the bodies had not been burnt as had been suggested in the preliminary investigation. In fact the black marks left on the ground were not the result of burning but had been caused due to decomposition of the bodies.

A three-member team from the Central Scientific Forensic Laboratory (CSFL), Chandigarh, reached the crime scene early this morning and joined the Special Investigating Team (SIT) to collect forensic evidence from there. The team stayed at the sheller for almost six hours and conducted several tests on the spot.

The SSP, Mr G. Nageshwar Rao, while speaking to The Tribune, said the police was going to get DNA tests of the four victims conducted to ascertain their parentage.

The bodies of four children, who were today identified by their parents as Rattna (14), Archki (9), Satbir (12) and Puran (9), were sent for postmortem examinations to the GGS Medical College, Faridkot. Although the four had disappeared on November 12, 2006, a missing report was registered on November 14 at the Muktsar police station, while an FIR was registered yesterday after the bodies were found.

The SSP said the four had been strangulated and their hands had been tied at their backs. He said the forensic team had also found blood stains on the ground suggesting that one of the girls had been raped. While the condition of clothes of a girl and a boy indicated that they had been sexually abused by the suspect.

However, no footprints were located at the scene of crime thus leading the police to the conclusion that no one had visited the place in the recent past. The SSP said it was being suspected that the children, after being kidnapped, were kept in confinement for about a week before they were murdered. He said the exact time of the murder was yet to be determined.

During the course of investigations the police interrogated some persons who have been convicted in cases of sexual abuse in the past. The police has, however, ruled out the possibility of kidnapping for ransom as all victims belonged to poor families.

Brar to be questioned only if evidence points at him

The Inspector General of Police (Bathinda zone), Mr V.K Bhawra, said the former Congress MP, Mr Jagmeet Brar, would be questioned only if some incriminating evidence was found against him. He said so far nothing had been found against Mr Brar from the crime scene or from the statements of the parents recorded.

The Punjab Human Rights Commission (PHRC) had sought a report from the local police regarding the missing children, whose bodies were found yesterday. The SSP said the police was yet to file a report in this regard as the PHRC had fixed the next date in February. The PHRC sought another report from the State Home Department in connection with the recovery of four bodies after taking suo moto notice of media reports today. The Home Department has been asked to constitute a four-member commission headed by acting Chairperson Justice R.L Anand to submit report by February 6.

Killer knew victims?

The police is suspecting that the murders had been committed by someone known to the victims. They said it was quite possible that the suspect had lured the victims to accompany him to the closed sheller where he killed them. There could be involvement of more persons in the crime in case the victims were not acquainted with the killer, the police said.