College principal booked for abetment to suicide

Kapurthala, January 3

Tirath Ram Basra, principal of Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Government College, has been booked for abetment to suicide after the death of a woman clerk, Rajwinder Kaur, on the campus.

There is a controversy over the FIR against the principal as he has been booked for abetment to suicide while no such attempt was made by the clerk.

The FIR has been lodged on the complaint of Rajwinder’s mother Jasvir Kaur, who is learnt to have alleged that her daughter passed away as she could not withstand the burden that the principal was putting on her and she was bearing undue pressure.

Rajwinder was reportedly unwell since December 15 and she was admitted to a private hospital in Kapurthala. During the course of her treatment, she was shifted to a private hospital in Jalandhar and later even to Mohali where she passed away on December 30. Various unions in her college had been lodging protest outside the campus since her death alleging victimisation at the hands of the principal. The family had even refused to cremate her body and the police have reportedly booked the principal under the pressure of the unions.

Kewal Singh, SHO, Kapurthala City, Urban Estate, confirmed that the FIR had been lodged under Section 306 of the IPC. Meanwhile, Principal Basra denied all allegations against him.

“A case of abetment to suicide has been registered against me. The woman did not die of suicide. She was suffering from pneumonia and related health issues. I never harassed her or anyone else in the college,” he maintained. — TNS

Woman clerk was suffering from pneumonia

A case of abetment to suicide has been registered against me. The woman did not die of suicide. She was suffering from pneumonia and related health issues. I never harassed her or anyone else in the college. — Tirath Ram Basra, principal of Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Government College