Bodies of 3 Panipat kids recovered from canal, kin cry foul

KARNAL: Bodies of three children aged between 8 and 10 were recovered from a canal in Binjhol village of Panipat district, police said on Wednesday.

As per their parents, who work in local factories, the boys had gone missing on Tuesday evening and their bodies were found the next morning.

They refused to cremate the bodies and held a protest on Wednesday, claiming that their children did not drown, but were murdered.

Sushil Kumar, relative of one of the boys, said the children had gone to a bleach house while chasing a kite. “Someone from the bleach house threw them into the drain,” he alleged.

Panipat deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Sandeep Kumar pacified the protesters and said they will investigate the case from all angles. “We are waiting for the postmortem reports,” he added. Following the DSP’s assurance, the families lifted their protest and agreed to cremate the bodies.

FIR REGISTERED

Panipat SP Manisha Chaudhary said, “We have registered an FIR on the complaint of children’s families. Their allegations will be verified during the investigation.”

Panipat Model Town police station in-charge Sunil Kumar said an FIR under Section 365 (kidnapping with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was already registered to which, section of murder has now been added.

Among those booked are Hariom (owner of the bleaching house), Pawan Kumar (manager), Ashu (owner of the land) and his mother, he added.