Molesters identified? Father says yes, brother no

Kulwinder Sandhu

Tribune News Service

Moga, May 3

The police today took the girl’s 15-year-old brother Akashdip, who is an eyewitness to the molestation incident, for the identification of four alleged accused to the Baghapurana police station.

Jatinder Singh Khaira, Senior Superintendent of Police, claimed that the boy had identified the alleged accused, but Akashdip told the media that no one was paraded before him. He said: “I was taken in a white jeep to the police station. I stayed there for a couple of hours, but no one was paraded before me.”

A TV channel reported that the police had taken the boy to an undisclosed location.

The boy was later brought to the district hospital. His father claimed that he had identified all accused persons. “We are satisfied with the way investigations are going on,” he said in an uneasy tone.

One of the main demands of the family was that the alleged accused employees of Orbit Aviation must be identified by them. They feared that the police might implicate some innocent persons. It was in this context that the police had taken the boy to identify the accused.

Legal experts said the police had no power to conduct an identification parade. “The police have to seek permission from the court. The identification parade is carried out in the presence of a judicial magistrate,” said Ramesh Grover, president, District Bar Association.