Nine months after 11-year-old Malerkotla boy Vidhu Jain was set ablaze in broad daylight, the Punjab government's decision to seek a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has given the parents the hope of getting justice soon.
The aggrieved family had shifted to Hargobind Nagar at Tibba Road, Ludhiana, from Malerkotla earlier this year, fearing a threat from the accused after Vidhu Jain's murder on September 30.
Vidhu's parents said the government should have referred the case to the CBI months ago, as the Punjab Police have failed to arrest the accused.
"Two weeks ago, we wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union home minister Rajnath Singh and chief minister Parkash Singh Badal with the demand that case be handed over to the CBI. We met senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar at Chandigarh and made the same request to him. Shanta Kumar assured us of taking up the matter with the chief minister," said Navneet Jain, Vidhu's father.
Jain added that in January, Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had assured them that he had written to the CBI director for an investigation in the murder case. "Dhindsa had shown us a copy of the letter he had purportedly written to the CBI. When we enquired, the CBI authorities told us that they have not received any letter from Dhindsa," he said.
Jain added that in January, Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had assured them that he had written to the CBI director for an investigation in the murder case. "Dhindsa had shown us a copy of the letter he had purportedly written to the CBI. When we enquired, the CBI authorities told us that they have not received any letter from Dhindsa," he said.
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'State police failed to provide justice'
As per Vidhu's mother Aarti Jain, a day after her son was killed, the Sangrur senior superintendent of police had told them that some teenagers were involved in the murder.
The police had rounded up some suspects, but released them immediately after their kin held a protest and vandalised rail tracks. She alleged that the police officials let the suspects off the hook under political pressure.
She claimed that in a video recording of the incident, police officials were seen questioning Vidhu in a harsh manner rather than rushing him to the hospital. Vidhu had told the police that five people had assaulted him and that he knew the attackers. They had tried to steal a kite string from the shop of Vidhu's father a few days before the incident, the victim's mother claimed.