M A I N   N E W S

Widow fears for her life
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Jahankhelan (Hoshiarpur), November 26
Geeta, the 20-year-old woman, whose husband Jasbir was hacked to death allegedly by four Rajput youths yesterday in the main bazaar here, today said the killers, were threatening her and might even kill her for being a witness to the crime.

Meanwhile, to mourn Jasbir’s death, all commercial establishments remained closed today even as a section of people feared that the yesterday’s incident may lead to more violence.

Geeta and Jasbir had earned the wrath of village youths when they had got involved with each other about seven years ago. Sarbjit, Jasbir’s brother, also thrashed by the group-said to be enjoying patronage of certain influential political people of the village.

Kapoor Kaur (70) Jasbir’s aunt who has been a panch of the village for past about 30 years and with whom Jasbir had lived since the age of seven, has once again been left alone. She had lost her husband in Bihar during the 1984 riots and her son to cancer.

Talking to the Tribune at her in-laws house here, a sobbing Geeta alleged that no one, including the police officials, came to her husband’s rescue, when he was being attacked with swords by Daljit, Subhash, Parbhat and Naresh. “Hardly, anyone noticed when they barged into our (Kapoor Kaur’s) house and tossed one of Jasbir’s arm in the air before running away shouting,’ "Chuk laoo aaloo badmash nu". The police reached the scene an hour after the incident. Though, some guards have been deployed at our house, yet, no officer has come to take stock of the situation. I fear that they may come back to kill me since I am the lone eyewitness. They have even threatened me over the phone, saying that since the maximum punishment for a murder is hanging, they would also kill me.” Geeta alleged that the culprits, who were still on the run, were enjoying patronage of some prominent people of the village belonging to the Rajput community. The main bazaar wore a deserted look today as shopkeepers kept the shutters down. “It can lead to more caste violence in the near future,” said a shopkeeper.

When contacted, Mr Lok Nath, the SSP, denied that the police had not reached the spot in time. He said special police parties have been constituted to raid about 15 suspected hide-outs in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to find the culprit. “We also have some force in the village where there is no tension,” said Mr Lok Nath.

Meanwhile, inquiries revealed that Geeta’s father, Hoshiar, an employee with the Agriculture Department in Jammu, and her mother Krishna, did not attend Jasbir’s cremation. They had given their consent to Jasbir and Geeta’s marriage after they registered their marriage in Chandigarh Court on September 9. Many relatives had also accepted the marriage, but some communities youths opposed it.