FARIDKOT, August 22: A 19-year-old youth who disappeared from his rakhi stall was found dead near the Government Medical College, prompting his family to allege murder and refuse to conduct his last rites until the circumstances of his death are investigated.
Daksh, according to his father Rajesh Kumar and a friend, was last seen at his stall around 6 pm. His family spent the night looking for him and making inquiries with people known to him.
The search ended after the family received a phone call late at night informing them that a body resembling Daksh’s had been found near the medical college. They reached the site and identified the body, which they said was in a badly damaged condition.
The family has disputed the police’s preliminary suggestion that substance abuse may have been responsible for the death. Rajesh Kumar maintained that Daksh did not consume drugs, as far as the family knew, and alleged that he had been killed elsewhere and his body dumped.
“We have never seen our son consume drugs,” the father said, while demanding a detailed investigation to establish what happened to Daksh and identify those responsible.
The family has also decided against performing the last rites until it is satisfied that the case has been properly investigated.
City-2 SHO Akalpreet Singh said police were alerted by a local medical hospital and subsequently recovered the youth’s body from the location.
Singh said initial information suggested that Daksh occasionally used drugs, which could have led to his death. He stressed, however, that the preliminary assessment was not conclusive.
“The exact cause of death would be ascertained only after the postmortem report is received,” the SHO said.
Singh added that the family could submit a statement if it suspected foul play and said police would take further action based on the statement and postmortem findings.
