Avijot’s killer nabbed

Tribune News Service

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Ludhiana, December 4

The police today claimed to have solved the murder of seven-year-old Avijot Singh with the arrest of a 26-year-old man. The suspect, Manjit Singh, was in a live-in relationship with the deceased’s mother and wanted to marry her, the police said.

Addressing mediapersons, ADCP Rajveer Singh and ACP-Sahnewal Harkanwal Kaur said Manjit had admitted that he disliked Avijot, so he killed him. Manjit strangled the boy and threw his body from the stairs, the police claimed.

According to information, the deceased’s mother was married to Bodhraj of Sekhwan village in Gurdaspur. Bodhraj, in his statement to the police, said his wife, along with Avijot, had started living with Manjit. He also alleged that Manjit had fractured Avijot’s legs two years ago.

Manjit, who also belongs to Sekhwan village, resided at a “vehra” near Gurdwara Sahib at Ahluwalia Colony, Mundian Khurd village. He was arrested from Jamalpur Chowk when he was about to board a bus today, said the police.

The ADCP said: “Manjit had hatched a plan to kill Avijot. He left the deceased’s mother at Beas on December 2 as per his plan. At night, he inserted his hand into Avijot’s throat and the boy choked to death.”

After throwing the child’s body from the stairs, Manjit pretended before the neighbours that he fell off the stairs and took the body to the Fortis hospital, the police said.

Bodhraj told the police that his wife came to Sekhwan on December 3. “I had received a call from Manjit, who informed me that Avijot had fallen off the stairs and had been admitted to Fortis Hospital,” he stated.