Oz violence victim Ranjodh cremated

Ranjodh’s wailing mother Paramjit Kaur recollected her son’s unfulfilled dreams. “We never expected his big dreams to come to an abrupt end like this.” The family said that Ranjodh was expected to return in February on a month’s holiday,but that was not to be.

Among the large number of people attending his cremation were Patiala deputy commissioner Deepinder Singh and S S P R S Khattra,besides other officials. The brother and uncle of Nitin Garg,another victim of Australian violence,were also among those present at the cremation.

The DC said that the state government had announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the victim’s family and a suitable job for his brother Satnam. The Union government has already granted an ex gratia of Rs 2.5 lakh and the Congress would give the family Rs 5 lakh.

Twenty-five-year-old Ranjodh’s half-burnt body was found in a ditch by an orchard-lined road on the outskirts of Griffith town in New South Wales of Australia in December last. He was killed on the night of December 29,2009,but his body was found later.

Meanwhile,the New South Wales police in Australia have also arrested three persons in connection with the murder. Among those arrested are Gurpreet Singh,23,and his 20-year-old wife Harpreet. A third person was arrested on January 29 and will also be charged with Ranjodh’s murder.

In a statement issued in New Delhi on Friday,Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese said the identity of those arrested (all three are Indian nationals),as well as the conclusions reached by the investigation,clearly showed that racism had not been a factor.