Ludhiana: A man who left his home seven years ago was reunited with his family on Wednesday, courtesy of the location Bhagwant Mann chose for his swearing ceremony as Punjab Chief Minister. Mann took oath as Punjab chief minister at Khatkar Kalan, Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village to become the state’s youngest chief minister at the age of 48 in nearly four decades.
Jaswinder Singh, 29, of Sher Singh Wala village in Faridkot district had been missing for the last seven years. On the morning of March 10, 2015, Jaswinder left home for his usual run as he wanted to join the army. He never returned. Frantic, the family searched for him everywhere and even reported him missing at the police station but there was no trace of him until Punjab chose Mann and Mann chose Khatkar Kalan as the place where he would take his oath.
Jaswinder was one of the many workers hired for the preparations of the CM's venue. As the police personnel asked for the identity cards of all the workers for security purpose, Jaswinder could not produce one. Instead, he gave his name and full home address to the police who in turn contacted their Faridkot colleagues to verify his antecedents.
His family was overjoyed when the police informed them that their son was fine and was working as a labourer in a tent set up at Khatkar Kalan to prepare for the swearing-in ceremony of Bhagwant Mann.
By the evening, Jaswinder reached his home after seven years with his family welcoming him with open arms and moist eyes. Talking to reporters at Faridkot, Jaswinder said that he had been taken to Amritsar by a person whom he did not know. He said that at Amritsar, he used to work for one tent owner on a daily basis but he was not paid in full which forced him to stay with him for all these years. He said he was accompanied by several other boys who too had run away from home and were living in Amritsar.
