Atrocity on 5-yr-old: Stepmom held

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 7

A Sector 29 resident, whose purported video of thrashing her five-year-old stepdaughter and putting her in a gunny bag had gone viral, has been arrested from her relative’s house in Sector 27. She was produced in court today and has been sent to judicial custody. She has also applied for bail and the police have been issued a notice for Friday.

An FIR against Jaspreet Kaur was lodged under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act and Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC at the Industrial Area police station on Monday. She had married Manmohan Singh, a Sector 29 resident, last year. The victim’s elder brother had recorded the video.

According to the bail application, nothing is to be recovered from the accused and she is not to be interrogated. Her counsel questioned the genuineness of the footage and sought its verification. It has been claimed that the police had been threatening and harassing the relatives of the accused. In the bail plea, it has also been claimed that the accused had surrendered at 5.30 am today.

Defence counsel SPS Bhullar stated that Manmohan Singh was allegedly having an extra-marital affair. He alleged that his client was regularly beaten and tortured and there were medical proofs to confirm it. An affidavit by Manmohan dated August 22, 2016, about an apology in this connection has been attached to the bail application.

Bhullar also raised doubts as to why Manmohan Singh decided to file a complaint now as the alleged incident was said to have taken place in April-May.