Jigisha’s parents thank cops who cracked the case

On Friday afternoon, Sabita and Jaganath Ghosh, parents of Jigisha Ghosh, walked into the office of the cop who led the police team that cracked their daughter’s murder.

On Friday afternoon, Sabita and Jaganath Ghosh, parents of Jigisha Ghosh, walked into the office of the cop who led the police team that cracked their daughter’s murder.

File photo of Jigisha’a parents Savita Ghosh and Jaganath Ghosh.

Seven years have passed since the day they were introduced to senior IPS officer HGS Dhaliwal.

Dhaliwal was then south district’s deputy commissioner of police investigating the abduction-cum-murder of the couple’s only daughter Jigisha , 28.

A day after a city court convicted the three men accused in the young woman’s murder case, the couple met Dhaliwal. “In the papers this morning, I saw Jigisha’s mother smiling for the first time. They were photographed outside the court after the verdict. They were waiting for this day all these years. I knew it would come,” he said.

The three spoke about the couple’s only daughter, whom they had lost on the night of March 17. Last week, the couple had met Dhaliwal and discussed the possible outcome of the house.

Dhaliwal said the couple was hopeful of a conviction. “I hope the court treats this as the rarest of rare case. Among many other criminal cases, the convicts were involved in Soumya Viswanathan’s murder,” he said.

Remembering the investigation, the senior IPS officer said even the witnesses who deposed against the three stood by the police team. Dhaliwal said it was traditional policing.

Read: Shopping spree with Jigisha Ghosh’s debit card nailed killers

“Once we got a not-so-clear picture of them from a shop’s CCTV and the ATM,we printed hundreds of copies and our men went door to door. That is how we got our first lead. In all these years, the parents were threatened but never did they lose hope and continued their fight,” he said.

On Friday evening, over tea, the top cop learnt more about Jigisha than he had in all these years. “Her parents told me that she was deeply religious and had visited the Golden Temple, where she volunteered for some duty just days before her death. I wish to put on record that the conviction was a team effort of all the lawyers, the witnesses, the men who worked round the clock, and many others who were behind the scene.”

The Ghosh coupls said they had gone to meet Dhaliwal to thank him for his support all these years. Dhaliwal’s team had also helped the couple in their household chores after their daughter’s murder. For days, the young woman’s parents were in shock.

Sabita Ghosh told HT, “It is because of the hard work of the police department, especially Mr Dhaliwal and Atul Kumar, who investigated the case, that the culprits could be proven guilty. Their hard work was commendable. We thought we should personally go and thank the entire team to help us get justice for our daughter.”