23-year-old girl commits suicide at protection home

Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, February 12

A 23-year-old girl reportedly hanged herself at the State Protection Home on Monday evening.

The girl has been identified as Elena, a resident of Nepal. ASI Fakir Singh, who investigated the spot, said the girl was mentally retarded and hanged herself from the ceiling of her bathroom. She used her stole to hang herself.

The incident occurred between 7-7.30 pm when there were no staff, officials or caretakers at the protection home, located at Basti Gujan, said inside sources.

The girl was brought to the home in September last year after the police found her abandoned in Pathankot.

Judicial Magistrate Gagandeep Singh visited the home and initiated preliminary investigation. However, no information was given to the media. The sources revealed that only the cook was present at the home when the girl committed suicide and others were away for a marriage function of a senior official of the home.

They said the girl was disturbed for quite sometime and was upset due to the torture by the superintendent of the home.

Director, Social Security of Women and Child Care Development Department, Punjab, Kavita said: “Everything would be stated only after a juridical inquiry report were submitted.”

She said the girl was supposed to be handed over to her parents on Tuesday as officials at the home had located her whereabouts and identified her parents.

Meanwhile, the sources alleged that earlier also, the parents of girls residing at the home had complained that superintendent Manjit Kaur used to torture them and even provided them phones to talk to unknown people.

Victim was upset due to ‘torture’

Nobody knows why a mentally retarded person was kept at the protection home when there are separate care centres for physically and mentally challenged. Sources said the victim was disturbed for quite sometime and was upset due to “torture” by the superintendent of the home.