Political leaders express grief over murder of 5-year-old boy in Punjab

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Several political leaders on Tuesday condoled with the family of the five-year-old boy who was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by a migrant worker in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district.

The boy was abducted while playing outside his house on September 9 evening. His body was found at a cremation ground in the city's Pur Hiran locality the next day. Post-mortem report revealed multiple injuries on the child's body.

Police have arrested Manke Yadav, a migrant labourer hailing from Uttar Pradesh and had been residing in the Subzi Mandi area, in connection with the incident. They said the accused, an alleged alcoholic, had abducted the boy, sodomised and strangled him.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema on Tuesday expressed his condolences to the child's family, who originally hailed from Bhanoki village at Phagwara in Kapurthala district and had been staying in Hoshiarpur for some time.

Cheema demanded severe punishment for the accused.

He also targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state by attributing such crimes to the alleged lack of fear of law.

Meanwhile, AAP MP from Hoshiarpur Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal extended Rs 2 lakh financial assistance to the bereaved family. He handed over the cheque to them at Bhanoki village.

Chabbewal expressed solidarity with the family and said the state government stands with them.

Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said he shares the grief with the family.

The boy's murder has triggered widespread outrage in Hoshiarpur and surrounding areas. The indignation intensified after images of the victim and details of the crime surfaced. Videos showing the boy's grieving parents and sister were widely shared on social media, further fuelling resentment.

Following the incident, several panchayats in Hoshiarpur have adopted a tough stance against migrants.

Sarpanches from around 20 villages -- including Chak Sadhu, Nandan, Singhpur, Bassi Bahian, Dada, Kila Baroon, Allahabad, Bilaspur and Anandgarh -- held a meeting in Bajwara on September 13 and passed a resolution that panchayats would no longer attest the official documents of migrant labourers who do not possess valid identification papers from Punjab.

They also decided that migrants without valid papers will not be allowed to reside in their respective villages.