A complaint of a demand of Rs five crore for the suppression of a rape case, allegedly involving Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s wife Gurpreet Kaur, has triggered a political storm in the state. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Punjab chief secretary and police chief over the matter.
NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo stated that the Commission has informed the Union home ministry about the allegations, terming it a ‘very serious matter’. The notice was issued after the Commission received a complaint from the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) regarding a demand of Rs five crore made in connection with the rape case.
The case involves the alleged abduction and rape of a girl by a Mohali resident, Gurinder Singh alias Guri Chahal. The FIR was registered on April 29 in Amritsar, and the girl was rescued on May 1. Chahal was arrested on May 13. However, the girl’s father alleged that the police did not conduct a fair inquiry, following which Chahal was let off from jail.
The father’s petition, filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleged that the Chief Minister’s wife was involved in seeking Rs five crore from the accused for cancellation of the FIR. The petition also mentioned that a proclaimed relative of the CM’s wife, Amardeep Singh Grewal, was pressuring the Amritsar police to hush up the matter.
The High Court disposed of the father’s petition on July 20, ordering that the investigation be transferred to the Special Director General of Police. The court noted that the allegations levelled in the petition were serious in nature and that the petitioners had expressed a specific apprehension that they would not receive a fair, impartial, and independent investigation at the hands of the local police.
The court directed that the investigation be entrusted to a senior police officer with no connection to the case and supervised by a senior state-level police officer to ensure a fair and credible probe. The CM’s wife has reportedly issued a notice to retired judge Ranjit Singh, who highlighted the case, asking him to respond within 24 hours, failing which legal action will be taken against him.
