Batala: Boy’s body exhumed 11 years after murder

The Batala police on Tuesday exhumed the body of a minor boy, 11 years after he was allegedly strangulated and buried by his mother and her partner in the compound of her house at Kokjipur village of Sri Hargobindpur tehsil.

Sandeep Singh (11) was allegedly buried by his mother Ranjit Kaur after he constantly objected to her having an affair with Satnam Singh of their village.

Ranjit’s husband had died in 2010. Four years later, she had an affair with Satnam and they decided to get rid of Sandeep. After asphyxiating him, they buried the body in the compound of Ranjit’s house.

The body was exhumed by using a JCB in the presence of the police and district administration.

SSP Suhail Qasim Mir termed the incident as “murder most foul”. He added that it was the most horrifying incident the town had witnessed in the past several decades.

For 11 years, the police had remained clueless. They got a tip-off that the duo were staying somewhere in Jalandhar. A team of cops, led by senior officers, went to Jalandhar and brought them to Kokjipur today.

The police subjected both of them to sustained questioning following which Ranjit gave up and spilled the beans. “She told the police the entire sequence of events following which we decided to requisition a JCB,” said an officer.

In 2014, Harjit, the boy’s paternal uncle, had questioned Ranjit about Sandeep’s whereabouts after he sensed foul play. However, she told him that he had gone to a relative’s house. Harjit, in the meantime, filed a complaint with the police. The next day, Ranjit and Satnam eloped from the village.

SSP Suhail said the police were investigating the case, adding that more details would be shared tomorrow.