A 63-year-old man in Punjab drowns eight-year-old nephew by pushing him into a canal to avenge the victim’s mother and his wife, both real sisters, for taunting him over his attachment to his elderly mother.

A resident of Abdulapura Basti in Ludhiana city, the accused, Swarn Singh, on 18 August, lured his younger brother’s only son, Sehajpreet Singh, to accompany him on his motorcycle with some pretext and pushed him into Doraha canal early next morning.

The victim’s body was recovered by the police on Sunday about nine kilometres away in Sidhwan Canal, near Harnampura village in Sahnewal, about nine kilometres from Doraha, in the Ludhiana district.

Speaking to The Statesman on phone, Ludhiana Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Civil Lines Ludhiana, Harish Behl said Swarn Singh is unemployed for about three months, “As per him (Swarn), his bhabhi (sister-in-law), the victim’s mother, and his wife used to taunt him that he doesn’t earn anything and either keeps serving his mother like a servant or visits Gurudwaras (Sikh religious places) all the time. So, he thought of killing the child to avenge his humiliation”.

Swarn Singh came under suspicion after he was caught on CCTV footage asking his nephew Sehajpreet to leave his cycle on the roadside at Miller Ganj (about two kilometres from the victim’s residence) and come along with him on his motorcycle. When questioned about it, the accused made an excuse that he was taking his nephew to Amritsar to pay obeisance at Shri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), but Sehajpreet went missing when they stopped near Jalandhar Bypass to buy fruits.

Finding inconsistency in Swarn’s statements, Behl said his role was further probed. In another CCTV footage obtained from Jalandhar Bypass, he said the suspect was seen taking the boy to Gurudwara Katana Sahib, near Doraha. From here, he took him to Gurudwara Sahib in Ajnaud, near Sahnewal, where they stayed on Thursday night.

“On Friday morning at about 6.30 am, Swarn pushed the victim into the canal. He was later captured returning home alone. After sustained interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime. He told us that he had thrown the boy in the canal. We have recovered the body,” he added.

Born 14 years after marriage, Sehajpreet was the only son of Jagjeet Singh and Simranjit Kaur. He was the youngest of three siblings. The victim’s eldest sister is married.