No FIR, no trace of Dalit man who was thrashed, tied to tree
Tikka’s wife suspects his murder; accuses Deba of using political pressure
BATALA : The 30-year-old Dalit man, who was tied to a tree and beaten up by his landlord, remained untraceable even after six days of the incident on Friday. Though no first information report (FIR) has been registered so far, the Batala police claimed to have started a search operation.
This came after Hindustan Times reported the matter on Thursday about missing Tikka Masih who was accused of stealing a fan from a fodder shed on September 9.
Batala senior superintendent of police Opinderjeet Singh said that two teams have been dispatched to locate Tikka.
“A police team led by Sadar station house officer Mukhtiar Singh also went to Deba Singh’s house for questioning but he was at large,” he added.
Meanwhile, victim’s wife Sunita said that few constables visited her house on Friday morning and assured that her husband will be traced within two days.
She, however, alleged that following the involvement of police, relatives of Deba Singh, who has a ‘political backing’, were now pressurising her to withdraw her complaint.
“I suspect that they have killed my husband,” Sunita had said repeatedly.
CASE OF MISSING TIKKA
Tikka Masih was thrashed by his landlord Deba Singh and his friends on the evening of September 9.
The entire episode was videographed and uploaded on the social networking sites.
His wife Sunita Masih had tried to lodge an FIR with Sadar police on September 10 but claimed that neither the police registered her complaint nor tried to trace her husband. “I rushed to the spot on being informed and even gave ₹1,300 to Deba as a cost of the fan. But even then, Deba took my husband away saying that he was going to teach him a lesson,” Sunita said.
Mukhtiar Singh, who took the charge of Sadar police station on Wednesday only, had said that he would call both the parties on Friday and take appropriate action against the guilty.
We have sent two teams to trace Tikka. Another team led by Sadar SHO Mukhtiar Singh also went to Deba Singh’s house for questioning but he was at large. OPINDERJEET SINGH, senior superintendent of police, Batala