A wave of shock spread across Jalalabad in Punjab after the body of a 14-year-old boy was found on the Fazilka-Malout main road near Mandi Arni Wala Sheikh Subhan. The child had been missing since Tuesday, and his body was discovered on Wednesday inside a plastic sack dumped in nearby bushes. The deceased was identified as Harpreet Singh. His father, Sukhwinder Singh, alleged that his son had been murdered. Based on the family’s complaint, police registered a case and arrested two young men. The accused were identified as Jaskaran alias Karan and Jatin alias Jatinder, both residents of Arni Wala.
According to the family, Harpreet had gone to a neighbour’s house around 11 am on Tuesday to play. A while later, the neighbour’s son returned with Harpreet’s bicycle and informed the family that he had gone out to play. When Harpreet did not return for several hours, his family began searching for him but could not locate him anywhere in the area. After an extensive but unsuccessful search, the family approached the police. On Wednesday, Harpreet’s body was found in a tarpaulin bag hidden in bushes near the local waterworks. The police took the body into custody and shifted it to the government hospital mortuary.
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Station House Officer Parmjit Singh of Arniwala police station stated that two accused youths had been arrested, while another suspect was still being traced. Preliminary investigation suggests that Jaskaran alias Karan (20) and Jatin alias Jatinder (20) had a disagreement with Harpreet while playing, which escalated into violence. In retaliation, they allegedly killed the boy and disposed of the body in a sack in the bushes. The exact cause and manner of death will be confirmed through the postmortem report. A forensic team also visited the spot and collected evidence as part of the ongoing investigation.