10 days after boy could not be traced, kin conduct rituals

Mohali, April 25

Over 10 days after the body of a 6-year-old boy, who was feared drowned in a canal in Ropar, could not be traced, the family of the victim on Wednesday conducted rituals (bhog) at a local gurdwara, hoping to get closure.

On the afternoon of April 15, Kirandeep Kaur, a Mohali resident, was rescued after she had jumped into a canal in Ropar with her son, Harsimrat Singh Tiwana, a Class I student of Doon International School.

The family and the police had launched an intensive search and rescue operation with the help of professional divers to help recover the body of the boy, who was swept away.

SHO Sukhbir Singh, Singh Bhagwant Pur police station, Ropar, said divers had been stationed at strategic points to help locate the boy.

A police official said all divers were in touch through WhatsApp, but the efforts had proved futile. “With water being at least 27-30 feet deep and strong current, the boy must have been swept away far,” the official said.

The bereaved Family members remembered the boy, affectionately called Simrat, as an intelligent student. Bhupinder Singh Tiwana, Harsimrat’s grandfather, broke down as he recalled his fondest memories with his grandchild. — TNS