SIT formed to probe woman’s death at police station

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 17

Following the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr Nanak Singh has constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team to probe a woman’s death at the Ballianwali police station.

Bathinda SP (D) Swaran Singh Khanna has been made the head of the SIT with DSP (D) Jasvir Singh and SHO, Rampura Sadar, inspector Hardeep Singh as its members.

On August 13, the High Court had ordered the Bathinda SSP to constitute a three-member SIT to probe the case and submit its report within two months.

SSP Dr Nanak Singh said, “The SIT has been constituted to probe into the death incident. The SP (D) has been made head while DSP (D) and Rampura SHO are its members.”

Jasveer Kaur (21) of Dadu village had allegedly committed suicide at the police station on May 21, 2016. Her family members had alleged that she was tortured to death.

Jasveer Kaur, a resident of Dadu village in Sirsa, and Balwinder Kaur, a resident of Kotra, used to work in a thread factory in Ambala.

On May 20, 2016, while going to Kotra village, both went to Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib in Patiala where Balwinder Kaur went missing.

When Jasveer Kaur reached Balwinder’s house, the latter’s family members handed her over to the police at the Ballianwali police station.

On May 21, 2016, Jasveer Kaur died under mysterious circumstances in the bathroom of the Ballianwali police station.

At that time, under pressure, the police allegedly got a thumb impression on blank papers from the deceased’s illiterate mother and termed the incident as suicide.

In the action taken under Section 174 of the CrPC, the police have written that the area magistrate had given verbal orders for not conducting video-graphy of the post-mortem.