The Tribune, Chandigarh
30 September 2011
Missing Amritsar girl found in Delhi
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 29 Bringing the curtains down on the drama enacted by the Punjab police, IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh has cracked the missing girl’s case.
Soon after the Punjab police tried to plant a stranger in place of the missing girl and asked her parents to accept her as their daughter, the Punjab-cadre IPS officer of 1998 batch tracked her down in Delhi. Her recovery has also brought to fore the sordid reality of callous handling of domestic helps in the country.
Pooja (15) went missing from Amritsar three years ago. The probe into the matter was handed over to Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh by Justice LN Mittal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. His name was suggested by advocate GK Mann, representing Pooja’s father Sonu Parshad.
The investigation revealed that Pooja was taken as a domestic help by Puran Kaur of Amritsar in 2008 with the consent of the girl’s father.
But later Pooja was sent to Delhi to work as domestic help with Kaur’s son Sukhbir Singh.
Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, SSP Crime Branch, said the girl escaped from Sukhbir’s house, as she was subjected to physical and mental torture. She somehow found her way to the house of a retired CRPF DIG. The parents have identified the girl as their daughter and she will be handed over to them after taking orders from the court of the Amritsar Chief Judicial Magistrate.
Giving details of the probe, the SSP said a team of officers, comprising DSP Vibhor Kumar, DSP Jagjit Singh, Inspector Makhan Singh and other officials, were constituted.
The interim bail granted to Sukhbir and his mother was cancelled on the request of the Crime Branch.
Sukhbir and his son, Arundeep, were then arrested before being taken on a four-day remand. The girl was traced to the Janakpuri area at the instance of the accused where she was living with a couple as a domestic help.
The police earlier wanted Sonu Parshad to believe that the girl handed over to him was indeed his missing daughter.
The Amritsar resident was sure that the police was bluffing. After the DNA test proved true his worst apprehensions, Justice Mittal has asked the IPS officer to carry out the probe.