Lowdown on terror suspects: Living in abject poverty, Class V passout worked as a helper

The recent arrests of state residents and seizure of IEDs from them in Tarn Taran and Karnal, Haryana, have the security agencies worried. The Tribune team meets the families of the suspects, who apparently have no political affiliations, to find out what made them go astray 

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Ajnala (Amritsar), May 11

Baljinder Singh Bindu’s arrest has come as a shock not only for the family, but also to residents of Gujjarpura village. They claimed that Bindu was not the kind of person who could be involved in RDX smuggling.

Bindu, 20, of Khanowal village, Ajnala subdivision, was nabbed by the Punjab Police from Naushehra Pannuan village in Tarn Taran with 1.5 kg RDX on Sunday.

“He can’t be involved in such act. Look at the condition of our house, had he been involved in such activities, we won’t have been living in poor conditions,” said Harjinder Singh, elder brother of Bindu.

The family demanded that the police should hold an impartial probe in order to ensure justice to the poor family. Bindu’s father Sukha Singh died around three years ago while his elder brother Harjinder Singh is a labourer.

Bindu, who studied till Class V at a local government school, was working as a helper in a private hospital at a salary of Rs 4,000.

His mother Baljit Kaur said it was Jagtar Singh who took him along on the pretext of attending a wedding function, but Bindu did not return.

“We saw Jagtar Singh for the first time when he came to take Bindu on Saturday for a marriage function. He told that he would return within two hours. However, he did not while his mobile also remained switched off. We thought he had gone to the hospital after the function,” Baljit Kaur said.

However, next morning, the hospital owner said Bindu did not come on duty and later in the evening cops informed them about his arrest. “We don’t know how Bindu came in contact with Jagtar or for how long they had been in contact,” she said. Meanwhile, the residence of Jagtar Singh was found locked. Villagers said his family went away after his arrest.