Punjab minister Bibi Jagir Kaur convicted in daughter's abortion case, acquitted in murder case

Chandigarh: The special CBI court in Patiala acquitted Punjab cabinet minister and former Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur in her daughter Harpreet Kaur's murder case on Friday but found her guilty of forcing her daughter to undergo abortion. The court sentenced Kaur to five years rigorous imprisonment and also fined Rs 5,000.

She has also been found guilty of abducting her daughter Harpreet, who had died under mysterious circumstances in April 2000. Kaur was arrested after the court's verdict.

The case has seen several witnesses turning hostile. Even the complainant, Kamaljit Singh, turned hostile, only to re-affirm the charges later.

Bibi Jagir Kaur has been sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment. She has been let off in the murder case.

While Harpreet's cremation happened hurriedly, a few days after her death, Kamaljit, a resident of Begowal, which is the ancestral village of Bibi Jagir Kaur, had claimed that he was Harpreet's husband and the father of Harpreet's still-born child.

When the police refused to register a complaint in this regard on April 27, 2000, Kamaljit approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. On June 9, 2000, the High Court directed the CBI to conduct an inquiry into the matter.

After conducting the probe, on October 3, 2000, the CBI registered an FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code against Bibi Jagir Kaur, who was the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee President at that time.

Three others Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi, Paramjit Singh Raipur and Nishan Singh were also convicted under section 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy). The three were fined Rs 5,000 each.

Another accused Satya Devi was acquitted of all charges while another accused Sanjiv Kumar died during the trial.

(With additional information from PTI)

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