Patiala suicide bid: Woman blames police inaction on encroachment plaint

The much-hyped swift police response to distress calls notwithstanding, a 40-year-old woman from Shekhpur village on Wednesday attempted to end her life by consuming a poison outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office. It has now come to light that she had made repeated attempts to seek police intervention, but was allegedly ignored.

The woman had earlier tried lodging a complaint regarding illegal encroachment on a village pond at the Kheri Gandian police station and also approached the Women’s Cell police station seeking urgent action. However, police officials reportedly told her to visit the police station in person to register her statement.

The woman, currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital, revealed that the encroachment had led to rainwater seeping into her house, with the situation worsening during the ongoing monsoon. She further alleged inaction by officials of the district administration despite her repeated complaints.

“For the past two days, I was trying to reach the police at Kheri Gandian police station. The munshi at the police station told me I needed to come in person to lodge my complaint. But the individuals against whom I had complained were not allowing me to leave my house. They would follow me on bikes and I feared for my life,” said the victim from her hospital bed.

Sources said the woman first approached the Women’s Police Station to lodge a formal complaint and then visited the Deputy Commissioner’s office when no action was taken.

“I am being harassed continuously,” the woman said, adding that she had also sent a complaint directly to Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s office but no action was taken.

Meanwhile, Pawan Gupta, president of Shiv Sena Hindustan, who visited her in the hospital has demanded strict action against all government officials whose alleged negligence forced the woman to attempt suicide.