BSF woman constable ‘slaps’ cop, arrested

PK Jaiswar
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, January 20

The police arrested an ex-serviceman and his wife, a Border Security Force (BSF) constable, for allegedly slapping and manhandling a woman sub-inspector near Sultanwind village chowk here on Saturday. They have been identified as Jaspartap Singh and his wife Kiranbir Kaur, both residents of Ratta Gudha village, Patti, Tarn Taran. They had come to Amritsar to meet their relatives.

The incident came to light when some relatives of the couple raised slogans against the police outside Sultanwind police post while alleging that the police had registered a case only because they (protesters) had an old grudge with an ASI posted at the same post. They alleged Jaspartap also sustained injuries as he was pulled out of the car and thrashed by the cops at Sultanwind police post.

Sub-Inspector (SI) Harsimranpreet Kaur, posted at Sultanwind police post, stated that she was deputed at a religious procession at Sultanwind Chowk on Saturday where a heavy traffic jam was witnessed. According to her, the accused were passing through the chowk in their Swift car (PB46-Q-0574) and when she signalled it to stop to let Palki Sahib pass through the road, the accused came out of the car hurled abuses at her. She alleged that they caught hold of her, plucked a shoulder flap button of her uniform besides slapping her.

A relative of the accused alleged his family had an old enmity with an ASI posted at Sultanwind police post so the case was registered only to teach them a lesson. The agitators demanded registration of a case against cops for “unnecessarily beating up” the couple.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) JS Walia said SI Harsimranpreet Kaur was a newly recruited official and she had no enmity. “The accused manhandled her therefore a case was registered and both were arrested,” he said.

According to sources in the police, the mother of the accused had been a cop. Police officials made an unsuccessful attempt to strike a compromise between the two groups. A case under Sections 353, 186, 332 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against them.

The issue

During a religious procession at Sultanwind Chowk, Sub-Inspector (SI) Harsimranpreet Kaur signalled a car to stop to let the procession pass. According to her, BSF constable Kiranbir Kaur and her husband Jaspartap Singh manhandled her. After their arrests, their kin staged a protest outside Sultanwind police post alleging that they had an enmity with an ASI, and the arrests were meant just to humiliate the family.