Chandigarh, October 28
This marriage, due next month, was to bring two high-profile families together. Today, Gurpreet Singh Gill, former DGP of Himachal Pradesh, his wife and son are on the run. The daughter of a serving Inspector General of Punjab Police has filed a case of rape and dowry harassment against the Gills. The Gills, in turn, have alleged misuse of power by the Punjab Police officer.

The case against the Gills was registered at the Sector 34 police station on October 11.

As per the FIR, Arjun Gill allegedly tried to force the victim into his house arguing physical compatibility was a must before marriage.

The FIR says the girl was disturbed following increasing demands of dowry made by her in-laws.

Claiming he was innocent, Arjun Gill (Gurpreet’s son) today moved a local court for anticipatory bail. In his plea, he said the girl lodged the complaint after he “refused to marry” her on the ground of incompatibility.

He has also claimed that the registration of the case amounted to “misuse of power” as the girl’s father was “in active service of the Punjab Police, posted as Inspector-General in Chandigarh”. Acting on his bail plea, the court has put the UT Administration on notice.

“The roka ceremony was solemnized on August 10.

Instead of making preparations for the wedding, my daughter is appearing in a court and visiting police station for seeking arrest of her prospective in-laws. The wedding was fixed for November 30,” said the desolate father of the girl.

He has sought a CBI inquiry accusing the city police of ‘improper’ and ‘slow investigation’.

“The accused boy is having fun. The whereabouts of his parents are known to the police. But none has been arrested even almost three weeks after the registration of the FIR,” he complained.

SSP Chandigarh Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill said the investigation into the case has been handed over to the Crime Against Women cell following the demand of the rape victim. However, he denied that the police was not doing enough to arrest the accused.

“We are conducting raids to nab the accused. But as per the Supreme Court guidelines, the persons accused of dowry should be arrested only after a thorough investigation into the allegations," the SSP said.

The girl alleged that the accused started demanding dowry after the marriage date was fixed. A list was handed over to the complainant’s parents in which six gold bracelets of three tolas each, gold sets for women relatives in the in-laws’ family, a Rado watch and 30 ladies suits were sought. Arjun claims that dowry was never demanded, saying “these false allegations are a willful attempt to malign us.”