There is a ray of hope after 19 years for 63-year-old Mahinder Singh of Kunjpura village. He had been running from pillar to post to get justice for the murder of his son. His 12-year-old son Parmod Kumar was kidnapped and murdered in 2001.
Bharti Arora, IGP, Karnal Range, constituted an SIT headed by Panipat DSP Rajesh Phogat for fresh inquiry. The SIT would conduct narco-analysis on all suspects in the case.
“I have lost my son, but the culprits are roaming free. I will fight for justice till my last breath,” said Mahinder at his tractor repair shop in Kunjpura village with tears in his eyes.
Parmod, a Class VII student, was kidnapped around 6:30 pm from his father’s shop on January 4, 2001. At that time, Mahinder was at the terrace of the shop.
On January 8, 2001, one of the suspects informed him about a ransom call in which Rs 8 lakh was demanded for freeing the boy, who would be handed over in the jungle of Badagaon. When he and the police went to the jungle to trace the boy, they returned empty handed.
The police registered a case of kidnapping against unidentified persons. On March 15, 2001, a skeleton was found under the bridge on a drain. He recognised his son from the clothes he was wearing at the time of the kidnapping.
Mahinder expressed his anguish over non-cooperation by the police. “I gave the names of four persons involved in the kidnapping and murder of my son. No action was taken by the police, forcing me to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2002 for justice,” said Mahinder, wiping his tears.
On April, 8, 2003, the court directed the Karnal SP to inquire. The case was transferred to the CIA-2, he said. Even after court guidelines, the police humiliated him and did not cooperate, he claimed.
“I did not lose hope and continued my struggle for justice. In March 2015, I received a setback when the police filed an untraced report in court. I challenged the police report and requested further investigation on April 13, 2015. The court ordered investigation, but only paperwork was done,” he said.
“The court issued an order for polygraph test on all four suspects on November 4, 2015, but the police conducted it on three. We objected to findings of the polygraph test in court. The police submitted an untraced report again in September 2019, forcing us to approach court again in December 2019,” said Radhey Shyam and Munish Mittal, counsel for Mahinder. PTI
