‘Kidnapper’ who struck twice and remains without a trace

For weeks now, the Faridkot couple have been beginning and ending their day outside the police station, protesting with supporters. Their 15-year-old daughter was kidnapped on September 24. Four armed youths had stormed their home, attacked them, dragged the girl out and driven off with her.

The prime suspect is Nishan Singh, 19; the accomplices have been identified as Rajwinder Singh alias Ghali, Varinder Sharma alias Dhalla and Toofan Singh alias Toofani. The same group had abducted the girl in June too, a fact conceded by the police. She was found a month later in Kharar but the youths remained at large. Since the second abduction, neither Nishan nor the girl has been traced.

Nishan belongs to an influential family that owns some 60 acres of land and includes a number of what are known as "kakas". At 19, he has faced 17 criminal cases already, the charges including rape and murder. Son of a retired Air Force officer, who died when he was very young, Nishan now has only his mother, having lost his sister too.

"When I was posted as SSP in Faridkot some three years ago, we rounded up this boy. He being a juvenile then, the sentences have never been strong," said Paramraj Singh Umaranangal, who was DIG (Ferozepur) until being transferred recently. "Police officials should have kept an eye on his movements," he said, admitting it was a lapse. Nishan is said to have political backing.

The girl's family had stopped sending her to school after the first abduction. She was a bright student in Class X. Her father is a car dealer and her mother works with LIC.

"My wife was ready to leave for office. Just as we opened the gate, Nishan and another boy forced themselves in," her father said. "Nishan grabbed our daughter by the hair and dragged her towards the car. I ran towards them. One of the boys opened fire while another began beating us up. I broke my arm; they hit my wife on the head and an arm. They even beat up my elderly parents and did not spare my elder daughter either."

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