Police say road mishap, family claims murder

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, February 26

Family members of Virender Kumar (25), who died under mysterious circumstances during the Jat stir a year ago, has refused to believe the police version of the story that he was killed in a road mishap.

Virender's head bore deep injury mark inflicted by some sharp weapon. His family firmly believes that he had not died in a road mishap, but was murdered. Describing the police investigation as ‘beyond facts’, they have been running from pillar to post for the past one year to get his death probed from the higher authority, but to no avail.

“The government has neither provided monetary relief, nor sympathy. I want the murderers of my son, who was a mechanic of vehicle battery and ran a shop on the Rewari road here, arrested. Virender was planning to go to the USA, but it was not to be,” says Om Prakash Prajapat, Virender’s father at Chhawni Mohalla here.

He says, “Several prominent leaders came to our home to console us after the tragedy, but no one raised our demand of getting the case reinvestigated from the higher authority. We even met some ministers of the state government and wrote to the DGP, but no help was provided.”

“It was around 9 pm on February 19 last year when my elder brother, Surender, got a call on his mobile phone. The caller asked him to come to the Civil Hospital saying Virender had suffered serious injuries. We reached the hospital only to find him dead. Two persons, who brought Virender to the hospital, said he was lying along the Gwalison road in a pool of blood. The spot was not far away from where Jats had blocked a road,” recalls Naresh, Virender’s younger brother.

“How can we accept that my brother was killed in a road accident when there was no injury anywhere on his body except the head? We are tired of approaching politicians and bureaucrats for justice, but will not quit till we find those who killed him,” says his brother.

Naresh maintains that they have not yet received any financial aid from the government.

Asharfi Devi, Virender’s mother, says, “We have been going through an extremely traumatic phase ever since Virender's death. My husband and I have been battling poor health. He is not fit to do his work of making earthen items.”

Recalling the violence that struck Chhawni Mohalla last year, she says a group of armed miscreants attacked their house with bamboo sticks, sharp weapons and firearms on February 20, when they were at the Civil Hospital to get Virender’s body after post-mortem examination.

“We locked the main gate of the house and remained indoor for over an hour to save ourselves. The assailants had smashed our electricity meter and damaged everything by then,” Asharfi maintains.

Jhajjar DSP Rajeev Kumar says initially, a case under Section 302 (murder) was registered against unidentified persons on the complaint of Virender’s family.

“His post-mortem examination was performed by a board of doctors, who concluded that the injuries on Virender’s body were caused in a road mishap. The case was converted into a road mishap on the basis of doctors’ report,” said the DSP.