Mosul: Confusion in Punjab over return of two bodies

AMRITSAR: Confusion over return of bodies of two victims, who were killed in Mosul, Iraq, by Islamic State terrorists, left their grieving relatives disappointed in Amritsar on Wednesday.
Still trying to come to terms with the announcement made by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, relatives of Parvinder Kumar and Jasvir Singh from Nawanshahr had to return home from the Amritsar airport without bodies of their loved ones.

Relatives of the two men, who hailed from Jagatpur and Mahindpur villages of Nawanshahr district, had arrived at Amrtisar's Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport along with two ambulances and government officials to receive their bodies and take them back to their native villages.

However, neither the Amritsar administration nor the officials accompanying the families of the two victims had any details and after waiting for about three hours, all of them returned in the same ambulances. Nawanshahr DC Amit Kumar said that there was a message that the two bodies were reaching Amritsar on Wednesday. "Apparently there was some communication gap in this moment of despair and the confusion happened," he explained.

Powercom executive engineer Ranjit Singh, who was accompanying the relatives of the two victims, told TOI in Amritsar that they had arrived on the instructions of the district administration, but did not have details of the flight in which the bodies were being transported. “We are still inquiring about the details of arrival of bodies,” he said on Wednesday morning.

After numerous inquiries and some frantic calls, Jasvir Singh’s brother Bhupinder Singh said, “We are already grieving. It’s like a cruel joke to us, the administration should have doubly confirmed about arrival of bodies before bringing us here.” He said they had finally been informed that it could take one to two weeks for the arrival of the bodies.

A police officer of the rank of deputy superintendent of police had arrived at their home on Tuesday night and asked them to reach the airport in Amritsar by 10 am on Wednesday, Bhupinder said. “Not only have we been harassed, back home our other relatives are equally worried and upset,” he added.

Parvinder Kumar’s maternal uncle Kashmir Chand said they were confused and frustrated by traveling all the way to Amritsar and then returning empty-handed. He complained that nobody gave them exact information. (With inputs from IP Singh)