Troubles began the day he turned witness in sex scam

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 31

Jaswinder Singh Jassi used to run a successful cable network business at Amritsar’s Baba Sahib Chowk near the Golden Temple before 2003. His downslide reportedly began when he became a witness in the Amritsar Siti Cable sex scandal in 2003.

He allegedly started receiving threats from the key accused in the case, Fastway Cables' local in charge Sarabjit Singh Raju and others, to depose in their favour before the special CBI court in Patiala in 2009.

But Jaswinder stood his ground and deposed against the accused. After this, he moved an application before the court stating that he was receiving threats. Despite a warning from the court to Raju and other accused, the threats allegedly never stopped.

Jaswinder finally gave in after resisting these threats for almost a year. He turned hostile and deposed in support of the accused in 2010. But his troubles were far from over.

The accused continued to hold a grudge against him and allegedly grabbed his cable network with the help of his (Jaswinder’s) partner Pritpal Singh Lalli, who is husband of a ruling Akali Dal councillor. Pritpal is also one of the accused in Jaswinder’s suicide case.

Probably realising that the accused continued to keep a grudge against him despite his deposing in their favour, Jaswinder along with three other witnesses in the case moved an application in the court in 2014, stating that he wanted to change his statement as he had earlier given the statement “under pressure” (when he had turned hostile).

But the CBI court dismissed his application in February 2015. Ever since, he was reportedly under tremendous mental stress and was contemplating to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court over the matter.

Incurring huge financial losses, Jaswinder had recently narrated his woes to fellow cable operators and had also shared his plan of committing suicide in front of judges at a Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) meeting in New Delhi. However, that meeting got cancelled and was rescheduled at Amritsar.

Jaswinder, who had already prepared a suicide note, reached the meeting venue here on March 28 and attempted suicide. He breathed his last at a private hospital here yesterday. He has left behind his wife Balbir Kaur, son Prabhjot and daughter Simarpreet.