Man detained for abducting minor sons in Gurdaspur
GURDASPUR: Two brothers aged 9 and 6, who were abducted from a nearby village when they were on way to school on Thursday morning with their mother, their father has surfaced as the main conspirator behind the crime.
As per police, accused Malkiat Singh of Jassal village in Amritsar district, with the help of three others, abducted his two sons — Manjot Singh (9) and Manbir Singh (6) — from Karal village, about 4km from Gurdaspur, around 8.15am on Thursday. The boys’ mother Sandeep Kaur was taking them to Guru Har Rai Public School at Nawan Shalla, 1km from Karal, on a twowheeler when the incident took place. A senior police officer on the condition of anonymity said that the father of boys has been taken into custody.
Later in the day, personnel from Purana Shalla police station recovered the boys from the Ramdas area in Amritsar district and handed them over to their mother. Police refused to share details, saying they will hold a press conference tomorrow.
Sandeep had raised suspicion that her estranged husband Malkiat could be involved in the crime as he had threatened to take away his sons. Sandeep, along with her sons, has been staying with her parents at Nangal village near here for about a year. The abductors had come in a sport utility vehicle and whisked away the brothers. They also snatched her gold chain, gold bangles, mobile phone and keys of the twowheeler.
FARMERS WORRIED OVER WHEAT CROP
This has been a major source of worry for farmers, especially in Fazilka district, who say their wheat crop is likely to be affected. Satpal Singh of Ghrumi village said villages in Fazilka district get canal water supply six months in a year and for the last two months they are drawing toxic water from tubewells.
“Laboratory tests that state authorities have conducted have confirmed that groundwater in the area is not suitable for irrigation. Poor quality water is also harming the soil health. The state government should start supplying canal water for the winter crop,” he said.
Vikram Ahuja, a Fazilkabased farm rights activist, who had filed a petition on the issue in the NGT in July, said groundwater in several villages along Fazilka was getting contaminated due to the absence of organised