With the Sangrur police groping in dark for a concrete lead in the brutal murder of 12-year-old Vidhu Jain, their hopes now hinge on an eyewitness, who is deaf and dumb.
Sleuths of the Sangrur police are expecting a major headway in the case once the eyewitness' is questioned and his answers/communications are decoded properly.
Sources with police said though investigators tried hard to understand the eyewitness' communication, but failed.
“We have written to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research and Education (PGIMER), Chandigarh, to send a special team of audiologists and speech therapists to Malerkotla to communicate with the eyewitness. The team is expected to visit next week,” said a senior cop on condition of anonymity.
Police sources said the eyewitness was present near the scene of crime and claimed to have important information about Vidhu's murder.
Vidhu, a son of kite seller, was burnt alive by unidentified persons in Malerkotla of Sangrur district on September 30.
The identity of the eyewitness has been kept under wraps for security purposes.
“Police identified this eyewitness during a cross examination of the eyewitnesses in the case. The deaf and dumb eyewitness is said to be communicated with the deceased after the crime for at least 10 minutes before a 108 ambulance took the boy to a hospital in Ludhiana,” said the senior police officer.
“The eyewitness though claimed to have some vital clues regarding how the incident happened, and the accused involved in it. He tried to explain all these to investigators through signs, but investigators failed to decipher it. And thus, we have sought the help of PGIMER,” the officer added.
Besides him, police were also questioning other witnesses to collect facts might lead to a breakthrough in the case, the officer said.
“At present, the investigators are cross-examining different persons in the area where the crime took place for further evidences,” he added.
Confirming the possible visit of a team of experts from the PGIMER, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu refused to divulge any further details.
The SSP said: “It was too early to authenticate claims of the witness, as police are still working on different theories to crack the case.”
