Justice served, Dilroz’s soul can now rest in peace: Parents after court order
LUDHIANA : Emotions ran high as sessions judge Manish Singal pronounced the judgement awarding the death penalty to Neelam (30) for killing the twoand-half-year-old girl of her neighbour in 2021. Dilroz’s parents, present inside the courtroom, couldn’t hold back their tears. Neelam had been pronounced guilty by the court on April 12, and on Thursday, it announced the quantum.
The case dates back to November 28, 2021, when the minor was killed in the Shimlapuri area here. Police said Neelam had a longstanding feud with Dilroz’s family members
as they would check her sons, aged 8 and 10 years, for creating a ruckus in the neighbourhood in Shimlapuri locality.
Child was kidnapped, buried alive
The woman kidnapped the victim on her scooter and buried her alive in a pit dug up in the area.
Struggling to hold back tears, the victim’s mother Kiran Kaur, gently wiped the framed picture of her daughter and said it was a relief that justice had been done, but it would not bring her back.
“I am still longing for her return. She haunts my dreams every night. I see her, suffocating, struggling, sand filling in her mouth and eyes, crying out for help before vanishing. It’s unbearable. Even now, two and a half years later, we are still clinging to the hope that she’ll come back one day,” Kiran said in a trembling voice.
Kiran also recalled that Dilroz was invited by Neelam during Navratri festival for “Kanya Pujan” like other families in the neighbourhood.
Her father, Harpreet Singh, a constable, said justice was served. With his voice heavy with emotion, Harpreet added: “It has brought closure to Dilroz’s suffering.” “We had big plans for our daughter. She was a bright student, and I dreamed of her clearing the UPSC exam one day. But she was snatched for us,” he added.