Patiala: Punjab minister Bibi Jagir Kaur has today been acquitted of her daughter’s murder. However, she has been convicted of trespassing and forcing her child to have an abortion. She has also been found guilty of kidnapping and illegal confinement and has been sentenced for five years.
Harpeet Kaur was murdered on April 20, 2000 when Jagir Kaur was president of the powerful Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee and was forced to resign after allegations of her involvement. Jagir Kaur maintained that Harpreet died en route to a hospital after a severe bout of food poisoning. No post-mortem had been conducted and many witnesses have turned hostile.
A case was registered only after a man named Kamaljit Singh, petitioned the Punjab High Court. He said Harpreet had married him secretly because her mother was opposed to their relationship. He produced photos and a video of their wedding to support his allegations. He said Harpreet was pregnant with their child and that Jagir Kaur had forced her to have an abortion.
The case was handed to the CBI in 2010. But Kamaljit also turned hostile after that. He said that the video of the wedding that he had submitted was a ceremony staged on camera to pressure Jagir Kaur; he said he did not actually marry Harpreet.
Along with Jagir Kaur, six other people had been tried for her daughter’s murder. One died during the course of the trial; two others have been acquitted today.
Bibi Jagir Kaur is considered close to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and was the former president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. She had to resign from the post following this scandal.
Mr Singh has recently written a letter to the CM asking for protection as he fears for his life.
News Source: NDTV
