CM Mann seeks MEA intervention for probe into grisly crime in US

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unjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday sought the intervention of the External Affairs Minister for impressing upon the US government to conduct a thorough probe into the gruesome murder of a Punjabi family in California.

Punjab CM expressed condolences over the death of an Indian-origin family, who were found dead in California, a few days after they were abducted in US.

The CM said it is unfortunate that a Punjabi family hailing from the Harsi village of Hoshiarpur district in the state have been murdered in California.

In a Twitter post on Thursday, Mann also made an appeal to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to conduct a high-level inquiry into the death of the family who had origins in the state of Punjab. “There was news of kidnapping and murder of four Indians in California, in which an 8-month-old girl has also been murdered. Very sad to hear this news. I share my grief with the families of the victims… and also appeal to the Union Minister of External Affairs @DrSJaishankar to conduct a high-level inquiry into the matter,” CM Mann tweeted.

The Punjab CM’s request came shortly after Merced county police informed that the In-dian-origin family, including an eight-month-old baby girl, were found dead in an orchard in California.

The bodies of four members of the family, who originally hail from Punjab in India were discovered lying close to each other by a farm worker in a remote orchard in Merced county, Sheriff Vern Warnke said on Wednesday.

“Tonight our worse fears have been confirmed,” the Sheriff said addressing a press con-ference. “We found four people from the kidnapping. They are in fact deceased,” Sheriff Vern Warnke said.

“The family (of the victims) have been notified. We have made arrangements through other contacts to try and get them,” he said. The police will process the scene of crime to determine the motive for the killings, he said.