Prem Singh. Picture by Gautam Dey

Dhanbad, Jan. 12: The Sikh community has reacted strongly to the alleged tonsuring of Prem Singh and abduction of his father, Manjit Singh Soni.

President of the Sikh Welfare Society Seva Sangh today said they would hand over a memorandum to deputy commissioner Beela Rajesh on Saturday to initiate an immediate inquiry and launch a search for Manjit.

Prem, a resident of Kumardhubi under Nirsa block of Dhanbad, has already lodged an FIR at Chirkunda police station against Sardar Surjit Singh, Kundan Singh, Rajkumar Sharma, Dilip Prasad, Ravindra Kumar Sharma alias Chotu and Hanuman Chadhai of Barakar in Bengal.

Dhanbad SP Sheetal Oraon said Rajkumar, Dilip and Chotu have been arrested and sent to jail under charges of abduction and forcefully breaking social customs, while a search has been launched for Surjit Singh.

He said: “Why the family did not lodge a complaint when Manjit went missing from December 25 calls for a probe. Moreover, the tonsuring took place on January 3 but the police were informed on January 10. All these points are being taken into consideration.”

Narrating his ordeal, Prem said problems started as his father could not pay Rs 4.5 lakh for a lorry he had purchased from Surjit.

The lorry, which was under Prem’s supervision, met with a severe accident in Garhwa on December 28, 2006.

Prem decided to go to his house to take money for repairing the truck.

But finding the premises locked, he went to his father’s office and learnt that Manjit had last attended the office on December 25.

Prem then rang up Surjit in Barakar and he was told that his father was there.

He went to Barakar on January 3 but was beaten up by Surjit and three others — Rajkumar, Dilip and Chotu.

He was forced to cut his hair and beard. He was sent back home on January 7.