‘Strangulated’ Ropar sarpanch was opposed to ‘killer’ husband’s drinking habit

 

‘Strangulated’ Ropar sarpanch was opposed to ‘killer’ husband’s drinking habit

Nitin Jain Poste

d online: Wed Dec 08 2010, 01:10 hrs

GANURAN (ROPAR) : Sleepy village chose most qualified sarpanch 2 yrs ago; vet pharmacist husband held This small and sleepy village in a remote area of Anandpur Sahib in Ropar district was today seemingly under gloom. It has lost its young woman sarpanch two days ago and that also in a most cruel manner.

While the house of deceased sarpanch Maninder Kaur was found locked, others in the village presented a deserted look with almost every household aggrieved with the inhuman departure of their 27-year-old woman head, which her parents attributed to murder and dowry death.

A Master’s in Commerce and Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Application, father of the victim Manjit Singh said Manjit was strangulated to death by her ‘greedy’ husband for want of dowry on Sunday evening. Married in January 2008, Maninder had a two-year-old daughter Ravleen.

Soon after her marriage, Maninder was unanimously elected as the sarpanch of her in-laws’ village in 2008 and since then, the villagers had no regrets on their choice, who was instrumental in the all-round development of the village.

Amrik, who is one year younger to Maninder and works as a veterinary pharmacist on contract, was today arrested on the charges of murder, dowry death and acts done in furtherance of common intention, Ropar SSP Jatinder Singh Aulakh told The Indian Express.

However, Amrik’s father Jarnail Singh, who is a driver with Water Supply and Sanitation department, and Kulwinder Kaur, a housewife, both in their mid-fifties, have gone underground after being named as co-accused in the case lodged under Sections 302, 304-B and 34 of the IPC.

Maninder’s lone daughter was also with her in-laws. A majority of the households in Ganuran and Maninder’s native Dher village had not cooked food on Monday when they participated in large numbers in her last rites at Dher, some 10 km from Ganuran.

“It was around 10.30 pm Sunday when Jarnail called up my nephew that Maninder’s was feeling unwell,” revealed Manjit, who is posted as SDE with PSPCL in Anandpur Sahib.

But till her parents reached, Maninder was lying dead. Refusing to accept her in-laws’ claim that it was a “suicide”, Maninder’s parents called the police and lodged a complaint of murder and dowry death. “They used to harass her for past some time and demanding more dowry, which we failed to give, following which she was done to death,” Manjit alleges.

Recollecting that how innocent and soft-spoken Maninder was, an octogenarian woman of Ganuran Sher Kaur says, “Ever since she came after marriage to our village, we all were swayed by her nature”.

While none from her in-laws’ family was ever elected public representative, Maninder carried forward the legacy from her paternal uncle, who also remained sarpanch of Dher village.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Maninder was opposed to the drinking habit of Amrik, who also drank almost two-third of a liquor bottle on the fateful evening before “strangulating” Maninder to death with her dupatta, Anandpur Sahib DSP Sant Singh Dhaliwal disclosed.

Though there were clear visible signs of strangulation on her neck, the autopsy report from Anandpur Sahib Civil Hospital was yet awaited, said Noorpur Bedi SHO Sarabjeet Singh.

Investigations also revealed that Amrik had quit drinking in October but ever since the engagement of Maninder’s younger sister, he again started drinking, leading to the domestic spat.