Hindustan Times (Chandigarh)

Woman Akali leader assaulted, video goes viral

- HT Correspond­ent

BARNALA: Police have booked at least seven people for assault after a video of some people thrashing and dragging a local woman Akali leader from Barnala went viral.

The woman, Jaswinder Kaur of Tapa Mandi, had gone to a temple, 16 Da Math, where the incident took place a few days ago.

Jaswinder said, “Sometime back, the attackers had alleged that I took ₹10 lakh for arranging a job, which later proved to be false. They are alleging that I blackmaile­d them, which is not the case.”

She is allegedly close to a local dera mahant whose family was furious over this. Two of the accused are his family members.

Superinten­dent of police (SP, investigat­ion) Sukhdev Singh Virk said, “The victim has alleged that she was brutally thrashed and injured. Somebody also shot a video of the incident. On the basis of her complaint, a case has been registered against Som Nath Soni, Vijay Kumar Bunty, Rajwinder Kaur Rani, Kamaldeep Sharma and three unidentifi­ed persons.”

Station house officer (SHO) Gaurav Vansh said, “Rajwinder Kaur and Som Nath have been granted interim bail. Vijay Kumar has been arrested, while Kamaldeep hasis absconding. We have yet to identify the remaining three accused.” LAHORE : A Pakistani court here has acquitted a man allegedly involved in the kidnap-cummurder of an Indian-canadian businesswo­man.

Additional district and sessions Lahore judge Irfan Basra on Saturday acquitted Hafiz Shahzad in the murder of Rajvindar Kaur Gill after the prosecutio­n failed to establish the charges against him. The court gave the suspect “benefit of the doubt.”

Kaur, a distant relative of former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, had disappeare­d shortly after she arrived in Lahore in August, 2012 to attend a conference.

Lahore police had registered a murder case against Hafiz Shahzad, Shahid Ghazanfar alias Karishna Roy and some unidentifi­ed accused on the complaint of the woman victim’s father.

According to the FIR, Kaur reached Lahore from Canada on August 25, 2012 and also confirmed her arrival to the family over telephone. When she reached Lahore she had Canadian passport, cash, a laptop, gold ornaments and other valuables.

The complainan­t said Kaur was in regular contact with Shahid Ghazanfar alias Karishna Roy, Hafiz Shahzad and others. Ghazanfar in connivance with Shahzad and other accomplice­s kidnapped her to rob her of money and later killed her, the complainan­t said.

Sikandar Singh Gill’s counsel Aftab Ahmad Bajwa said the accused had made a confession before the magistrate that he and other accomplice­s had killed Kaur over monetary matter and thrown her body into Khanpur canal on Sheikhupur­a Road (some 50-km from Lahore) the day she reached Lahore.

“We will challenge the acquittal in the Lahore high court as police have enough evidence against the accused,” advocate Bajwa said.

Ghazanfar who managed to leave Pakistan after allegedly committing the crime is reportedly facing trial in Canada.

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