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11 years on, father of boy burnt alive in Malerkotla seeks justice
Addressing the media in Ludhiana, Naveen Jain, accompanied by members of the Hindu Nyay Peeth and other social organisations, demanded justice for Vidhu Jain. Praveen Dang from Hindu Nyay Peeth detailed the long struggle the family has faced in seeking justice
Naveen Jain, who has been waiting for justice for his son for over 11 years, raised his voice again on Saturday, highlighting that the culprits responsible for his son’s death are still roaming freely. His son, Vidhu Jain, was allegedly burnt alive at the age of 12 in Malerkotla.
Addressing the media in Ludhiana, Naveen Jain, accompanied by members of the Hindu Nyay Peeth and other social organisations, demanded justice for Vidhu Jain. Praveen Dang from Hindu Nyay Peeth detailed the long struggle the family has faced in seeking justice. After Punjab Police failed to arrest the accused, the family moved to the high court, which handed the case over to the CBI on November 29, 2014.
The CBI’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) later submitted a closure report, stating that the victim had committed suicide. However, the high court rejected this report and transferred the case to CBI Mohali for further investigation.
“On June 15 this year, the CBI court declined the CBI’s closure report and ordered a reinvestigation,” Dang informed, urging the agency to arrest the accused who remain at large.
Ashok Thapar, national president of the All-India Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Memorial Trust, also extended support to the victim’s family and sought justice for Vidhu Jain.
The incident occurred in 2013 when Vidhu Jain was allegedly set on fire in Malerkotla.
The victim’s family claimed that a few boys, who had an altercation with Vidhu over kite thread, poured kerosene on him and set him ablaze.
In 2014, Vidhu’s mother, Aarti Jain, approached the High Court seeking a CBI probe due to a lack of faith in the police investigation, as the local authorities had failed to arrest the accused.
