M A I N   N E W S

Shruti case — A love story gone awry
‘Victim’ out to save main accused Nishan Singh
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 23
Shruti’s ‘abduction’ is turning out to be a case of a love story gone awry with investigations as well as the stand taken by Shruti indicating she is very much in love with her ‘abductor’ Nishan and is doing her best to ‘save’ him from punishment.

Police sources said Nishan had broken down after being nabbed from the Baga beach in Goa. He was in tears even during his flight back to Delhi.

Shruti, on the other hand, put up a fight at the beach. She refused to get herself medically examined or board the flight to Delhi. Shruti is quoted as having told the police: “How can I leave him? I have to stay with him. I have to save him.”

On her return to Faridkot, she refused to go back to her parent’s home or undergo a medical examination, thereby weakening the prosecution’s case. Police investigation has so far suggested that it is a case of a love story gone awry due to objections from the girl’s family.

Nishan, a dropout from Lawrence School, Sanawar, used to follow Shruti, who belonged to a middle-class family, on her way to school. Their friendship soon developed to the extent that he used to drive Shruti to and from St Mary’s Convent School in Faridkot, say sources.

The friendship was not liked by Shruti’s parents, which prompted Shruti and Nishan to leave their home in June, sources add.

They lived in Kharar for over a month, posing as husband and wife. Shruti was recovered by the police and handed over to her parents, but their affair did not end there.

Nishan gave up eating for several days, forcing his mother to visit Shruti’s parents and offer a matrimonial alliance between the two.

Police sources said Shruti’s abduction happened three days after her parents refused the offer.

They said Nishan and his three accomplices forcibly took Shruti away and injured her parents besides firing into the air but Shruti did not object to this.

Nishan’s mistake

Sources said the police was in a fix because the accused in the case chose to go their separate ways after abducting Shruti. The police had learnt from one of the accused who was arrested immediately after the abduction that Nishan and Shruti had boarded a bus to Moga. The trail, however, went cold after that. The police got back on their trail after the couple sent letters through a courier company in Paharganj. Police teams scoured CCTV footage from the Delhi railway station and learnt that the couple had boarded a train to Goa.

Near miss

The couple was sighted in Goa the day Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal held a press conference on the issue. But as the police did not know where they were putting up, it took them two more days to locate them.

Their future

Shruti has been sent to the Nari Niketan in Jalandhar where women constables have been posted to ensure she does not escape. Nishan will have to face the music for forcibly entering the Sachdevas’ residence, injuring the family and opening fire. He may get relief on the charge of raping Shruti with police verification revealing that the couple had solemnised their marriage.

Family & agitators

The family has apparently misled people as well as media about the relationship between the couple. The agitators were also not fully informed about the case.

The capture

Nishan broke down after being nabbed in Goa

Was in tears even during flight back to Delhi

Shruti put up a fight during their capture

Refused to get herself medically examined or board flight to Delhi

The relationship

Nishan, a dropout from Lawrence School, Sanawar, used to follow Shruti, who belongs to a middle-class family, on her way to school. Their friendship soon developed to the extent that he used to drive Shruti to St Mary’s Convent School in Faridkot. But the friendship was not liked by Shruti’s parents, which prompted Shruti and Nishan to leave their home in June and put up in Kharar for a month, say sources.