Police filed FIR three days after victim’s medical report

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17

Expressing sympathy with the family of Jagmale Singh, who belonged to the Ramdasi community, a number of political leaders along with Lehra DSP today visited the PGIMER. Jagmale’s wife Manjit Kaur (34) and two sisters, Baljit Kaur (45) and Tej Kaur (55), who were present there, demanded Rs 50 lakh compensation along with a government job.

They refused to take back his body or sending it for autopsy. While the narrative in Jagmale’s FIR has mirrored the adversity of caste-based atrocities in Punjab, it also hinted at a certain delay in the justice delivery system.

Buta Singh Gill, DSP Lehra, confirmed that a medico legal report (MLR) regarding Jagmale’s case was sent from the Lehragaga hospital on November 10. The FIR, however, was registered only on November 13, six days after Jagmale was reportedly taken hostage, tormented and beaten mercilessly by four upper-caste men of his village.

Sangrur SSP Sandeep Garg denied any delay in filing the FIR. He said after getting the MLR, the police had visited the Lehra hospital, but couldn’t find the victim there.

On Saturday morning, Jagmale succumbed to gangrene infection that had spread from the severe injuries in his legs after a reported torture by the Jat Sikh landlords of his Changaliwal village on November 7. The row between Jagmale and the accused was, as Jagmale’s wife said, “an abusive spat between the two, which took place about a month ago, but was resolved by the village heads.”

Responding to the query regarding the delay in filing the FIR, Buta Singh Gill, and one of his officers, said, “It was only on November 10 that the police were intimated about Jagmale’s case. An MLR was sent to us and the doctors had referred him to hospital, but he did not get admitted anywhere. When we saw his condition on a YouTube video that showed his blackened legs, we registered a complaint.”

Jagmale’s family, however, shared that they had admitted Jagmale to Lehragaga hospital on November 10 and he was then referred to several other hospitals. Jagmale’s wife said: “On November 11, we went to Sangrur. A day later, he was referred to Patiala, where we reached late in the night on November 12 and stayed till November 13. In between, we went to Sunam too. On November 14, we were referred to the PGI.”

Manjit shared that she couldn’t take her husband to the hospital the day he was attacked because she was away to her maternal village. “I got back a day later, thinking that his condition wasn’t all that bad. When I reached home on Saturday, I couldn’t take him to hospital as there was no vehicle, no money at home. My son who is 15 went with me to Lehragaga on Sunday to admit him,” she said.

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