Congress wants for CBI probe into Shruti case

Monday, 22/10/2012

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121022/punjab.htm#6

Faridkot : It was after 27 days of her abduction that the Punjab Police today claimed to have recovered Faridkot girl Shruti Sachdeva in Goa. Incidentally, the recovery coincided with a major protest by the Congress leadership in the town.

The protest saw Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh and former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal burying their differences and coming on a common platform after a long time. Both Amarinder and Bhattal along with Congress Legislature Party Leader Sunil Jakhar and around 20 other MLAs attacked the ruling regime.

Minutes before Amarinder was to start his address, police personnel on duty at the protest venue started whispering amongst themselves that Shruti had been recovered and the main accused, Nishan Singh, arrested. The news spread like wildfire, with the Congress construing it as an attempt allegedly by the ruling Akali Dal to deflate its protest.

But, Amarinder was in no mood to relent. He demanded a CBI inquiry into the case. Launching an attack at Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, he said, "The state government is harbouring criminals. The case has exposed a nexus between the ruling party, criminals and the police. The incident is just a tip of the iceberg."

Bhattal said if the government did not have faith in the CBI, it could hand over the probe to a sitting judge.

Jakhar said, "Instead of promising free laptops to the youth, the government should provide 'burqas' (veils) to girls so that they can escape the sight of criminals. The Shruti case smacks of Talibanisation of Punjab with the law and order situation getting from bad to worse."

The Congress leaders alleged that SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal's Nanhi Chaan campaign against foeticide held no meaning when girls in the state were unsafe.

History-sheeter lands behind bars
Born in 1993, Nishan Singh, the main accused in the Shruti abduction case, already faces 18 criminal cases, including that of rape, attempt of murder and kidnapping. He hopped onto the crime bandwagon on April 11, 2008, when he was just 15 years old. He kept on escaping the police net due to his sound financial background as well as alleged political links. But, it is the first time that he has been arrested and that too apparently under public pressure. In almost all criminal cases against Nishan, the victim families were reportedly always under pressure to withdraw the cases.