Akali leader at sit-in, but cops fail to nab him

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 31

Though the SAD-BJP alliance was thrown out of power in the state nine months ago, Akali leaders still seem to be wielding clout in the Malwa region.

This is evident from the fact that Bathinda police failed to produce Youth Akali Dal leader Balkar Singh Brar in a local court on December 22 in connection with the suicide case of his nephew’s wife and her two kids, though he was spotted in a SAD dharna against thermal plant closure here on December 25.

Balkar along with his nephew Gurlal Singh Brar was among the seven family members booked following the alleged suicide by Gurlal’s wife Amanpreet Kaur (32) along with her two daughters Guneet Kaur (4) and Mehreen Kaur (1) on November 14, 2014. Their bodies were found in the waterworks tank in Goniana.

The accused were booked under Section 304-B of the IPC for “forcing the woman to commit suicide along with her minor daughters”.

Nehiawala SHO Angrej Singh said they had conducted raids to arrest Balkar, but could not find him. Additional Sessions Judge KS Bajwa had directed the police to arrest and produce Balkar in his court on December 22.

Incidentally, Balkar was spotted along with Akali Dal leaders during their protest against the state government’s move to shut Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant in Bathinda on December 25. Now, the court has asked the police to produce him before it on January 12. The court had first summoned all the seven accused on November 19, asking them to appear before it on December 5, but Balkar did not turn up.

Earlier, an SIT formed to probe into the incident had concluded that Gurlal’s uncles Balkar Singh Brar and Onkar Singh Brar and their wives were innocent in the case. Later, another SIT was constituted, which gave a clean chit to all the accused barring Amanpreet’s husband Gurlal, who was then booked under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC. Later, the victim’s kin moved the court against the grant of clean chit to them.

Initially, after his sister’s demise, Amanpreet’s brother Gursharan Singh had alleged that Gurlal and his family were demanding Rs 15 lakh from them following the birth of twins (Mehreen and Navraj) in August 2013. He had accused her in-laws of harassing her, following which they were booked under Section 304-B of the IPC. The sensational case had even created fissures in the Akali Dal in 2014. SAD leaders openly sided with the families of Gurlal and Amanpreet when they organised separate bhog ceremonies of the deceased.