Protests after boy murder,Badal orders probe

The issue took on political colour when Congress MP Vijayinder Singla joined the protesters and sat with them on dharna all day along. Singla,along with the boy’s family,alleged that police were not taking the issue seriously.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal ordered an inquiry in the murder and asked DGP Sumedh Saini to get the murder case solved at the earliest. He also announced construction of a community centre in memory of Vibhu.

Late in the evening,Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani visited Malerkotla and spoke of a conspiracy behind the murder. He also asked the residents to remain calm.

Earlier in the morning,Navneet Jain,father of the murdered boy Vibhu Jain,had declared that he would not cremate the body till the culprits were arrested. However,in the evening,they cremated the body after the police assured them of swift action.

Police from adjoining areas were called in to control the protests and dharnas. SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu said the entire force was busy controlling the protesters,and the police needed time to crack the case. He appealed to the residents to call off the dharnas so that they could arrest the culprits.

Sidhu did not rule out a recent fight between Vibhu and two other boys over kites. He said,“Vibhu’s parents said the two boys fought with him two days back when they came to purchase kites at his father’s shop. Vibhu was sitting alone at the shop and he had a confrontation with the boys over the price of kites. However,the identity of the persons was not revealed.”

SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu questioned SHOs Parminder Singh and Davinder Singh,who lathicharged protesters on Monday evening.