Tension in Batala over child’s murder

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Batala, October 9

Tension gripped the town late tonight after angry residents, stunned by the alleged murder of a six-year-old boy reported missing on Thursday, surrounded the Batala (City) police station. They wanted the police to hand over four of the five accused arrested in the case.

The police resorted to lathicharge and fired into the air as the crowd turned unruly. The accused, it is learnt, were whisked away to a safer place when the police received inputs that a mob was approaching the police station. 

Earlier in the day, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harpreet Singh said the victim was murdered over a ransom of Rs 10,000. Though his body was yet to be recovered, the police said the killers dumped it in the UBDC canal at Dhariwal, 15 km from here. 

"It is a case of cold-blooded murder. The accused kidnapped the child for ransom but when they sensed the police were closing in on them, they killed him," the SSP said. 

The police officer said divers were trying to locate the body, and that help could be sought from the Army. 

Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha said the authorities had been told to reduce the water flow in the canal. 

Reports said the boy had visited the temple near his house at Maunian Mohalla along with his mother, Rama Bhatia, around 7 pm. 

"After paying obeisance, his mother left Krishna in the temple and walked home. He was told to return after playing there for half-an-hour... Krishna never returned," said a neighbour.

After about three hours of search in the locality and nearby areas, the net was widened and scores of youngsters scouted the town on two-wheelers. Throughout the night, prayer meetings were held at several places as the incident went viral on the social media. The boy's family, neighbours and a large number of residents also staged a protest at Gandhi Chowk. The dharna was lifted around 2 am after the SSP arrived and assured the protesters of all-out efforts to trace the child.The SSP said teams were sent to Delhi and Amritsar airports before two of the accused, who were being interrogated by the police, admitted that they had kidnapped the child for a measly ransom of Rs 10,000.

An FIR has been lodged on a complaint by the child's father, Jiwan Bhatia, who runs a hardware shop.