Jalandhar: Infant’s body exhumed on court orders

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, January 5

On the orders of the court of the Judicial Magistrate, Phillaur, the body of a four-day-old child, who died on December 19, was exhumed by the police and the district administration today.

Child’s mother Sangeeta had alleged that his father kept both her and her child out in the biting cold for days at the verandah in his own house and the infant died. Later, the mother was shifted to the Civil Hospital for treatment by her family members.

The child was buried by the family soon after. The Judicial Magistrate ordered the exhumation of the body and its autopsy to ascertain the cause of the child’s death.

Officials said the orders were issued after the police moved an application with the Phillaur Judicial Magistrate for a proper investigation in the case after an FIR was lodged in this connection.

A case was registered against the child’s father Jeetu (24) on the complaint of infant’s mother Sangeeta’s sister on December 28 at the Apra police station. Jeetu is at large.

The 20-year-old woman was living with her husband Jeetu at Chakk Sabu vilage. The woman’s sister, in her complaint to the police had alleged that Jeetu had repeatedly expressed desire to his wife to marry her minor sister. Upon refusal of the same by his wife, Jeetu used to beat her up. His wife gave birth to a son on December 15. On December 16, Jeetu, on being provoked by his relatives, thrashed his wife again. He then forced her to stay with their four-day-old son in the open in the courtyard of his own house. Due to the extreme cold, the child died on December 19.

The body was exhumed from the Chak Sabo village cremation grounds today where it was buried in the presence of the Apra police station in-charge Sukhwinder Pal Singh, Gursimran Singh Dhillon, SDM, Nakodar, and the Phillaur tehsildar. After conducting a post-mortem of the body at the Phillaur Civil Hospital, it was buried again. ASI Sukhwinder Pal said, “We moved an application with the Judicial Magistrate as the body of the child was needed for a post-mortem.”

Gursimran Singh Dhillon, SDM, Nakodar, said, “Acting on the police application, the court of the Judicial Magistrate had on January 4 ordered exhumation of the child’s body. The due procedure was followed today.”

Speaking at the burial site today, child’s mother Sangeeta sought action against her husband Jeetu and his associate Inderpal.