8 years on, justice eludes Maur blast victims

Bathinda: Even after a long wait of eight years, no arrest has been made in the Maur blast case in which seven persons, including five children, lost their lives.
The bereaved families have the solace of getting govt jobs, but are unhappy over failing to get justice. The residents of Maur town in Bathinda district also lamented the fact that the successive govts faltered in providing them justice.
A blast occurred in a car minutes after Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi completed his election meeting on the night of Jan 31, 2015, just four days ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab.
Jassi's daughter is married to Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim's son. Though three dera followers were named in the case, no one has been arrested so far. Japsimaran Singh (15), Sourav Singla (14), Ankush (11), Ripandeep Singh (9), Barkha (12), Barkha's father Ashok Kumar (40), and Harminder Singh Jassi's office manager Harpal Singh Pali (41) were killed in the blast.
Maur residents, by forming an action committee, held protests for long, but no arrest could be made in all these years even as Gurtej Singh alias Kala of village Alikan near Dabwali in Sirsa, Amrik Singh alias Shankar of village Badalgarh near Moonak in Sangrur, and Avtar Singh of village Bhainsi Majra near Pehowa in Kurukshetra district of Haryana were named in the case. The three were declared proclaimed offenders by a Talwandi Sabo court in 2019.
The bereaved families say they have lost hope for justice, even though in the name of justice, the govt provided jobs and some financial assistance.
Maur resident and action committee member Naveen Kumar said the people were angry for failing to get justice. The residents held a small memorial service on Friday and reiterated their demand for justice.
When the blast occurred, those were the last days of the SAD-BJP govt. The Congress completed its five-year tenure and now, the Aam Aadmi Party is close to completing three years, but the people are still waiting for justice, said Kumar.
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