M A I N   N E W S

CBI charges Jagir Kaur with daughter’s killing 
Court rejects bail plea
From Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

PATIALA, Nov 13 — Dismissing the anticipatory bail application of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Jagir Kaur, a Patiala court today accepted the plea of the Central Bureau of Investigation that an offence under Section 302 was made out against her and that her custodial interrogation was certainly required.

In a 10-page judgement, District and Sessions Judge S.N. Aggarwal while dismissing the anticipatory bail application filed by the SGPC chief, said the involvement of Jagir Kaur was made out in all the incidents leading to the death of her daughter Harpreet Kaur. He said these incidents included the shifting of Harpreet to Phagwara on March 19, her detention in Jasdil Mansion from March 19 to April 8, bringing her back to the mansion on April 10 and her subsequent death on the night of April 20.

Mr Aggarwal, while holding that a prima facie case under Sections 213 and 302 was made out against the SGPC chief, said the manner in which the body of Harpreet was consigned to flames without getting a post-mortem examination and lifting of the last remains of the girl from the graveyard removed all possible doubts regarding her involvement. He said if Bibi Jagir Kaur had been innocent, she would have got a post-mortem conducted on Harpreet’s body to clear all doubts about the reasons leading to her death.

The judge, while disposing of the issue of whether interrogation of the accused should be done while in custody or not, quoted the Supreme Court ruling in the State versus Anil Sharma case in which it was held that interrogation is qualitatively more elicitation oriented than questioning a suspect who is well ensconced with a pre-arrest bail order which very often reduces the interrogation to a mere formality. Accordingly, he said, he was of the firm opinion that custodial interrogation was certainly required and if the accused is admitted bail before arrest, it will hamper investigation beyond repair.

Earlier in the day, the CBI counsel added a fresh twist to the case by claiming that after collecting evidence so far, the offence had been converted to one under Section 302, IPC. A case had been registered under Section 120-B read with Sections 304, 344, 313 and 201, IPC, by the CBI earlier. Counsel submitted that Bibi Jagir Kaur was the chief conspirator and every chain of incident leading to the death of Harpreet took place at her behest. He pleaded that the custodial interrogation of the SGPC chief was necessary to bring out the truth.

The CBI counsel submitted that on March 19, Harpeet was taken from the residence of the SGPC chief in Chandigarh by Dalwinder Kaur not only on a false pretext, but also by intoxicating her. He said Harpreet was detained in Jasdil Mansion in Phagwara from March 19 to April 8 and during this period, her foetus she was got aborted. The prosecution said on April 8, when Harpreet escaped from Jasdil Mansion, she was again assured of her marriage with Kamaljit and allured back to Jasdil Mansion.

Counsel for the SGPC chief argued that the petitioner had been implicated in a false case at the instance of Kamaljit Singh, her alleged husband, and that she was prepared to join investigations and abide by all the conditions imposed by the court. They also prayed that the elections of the SGPC were scheduled for November 30 and Bibi Jagir Kaur had every right to be nominated to the top post again which she had been holding for two consecutive years.

Later, talking to TNS, Bibi Jagir Kaur’s lawyer Satnam Singh Cler said the judgement would be challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court after taking her consent.

Bibi Jagir Kaur had moved an anticipatory bail application here on November 8 which was heard on November 9. The CBI counsel had submitted that he was not well-conversant with the case, following which the District Sessions Judge granted the SGPC chief interim bail till today.

Bibi Jagir Kaur is the lone accused in the case who has not yet been arrested.