"The cops used to rebuke and insult us and even sometimes thrash us"
Kulwant Kaur, aged 50, from Ropar district, Punjab, India, died under mysterious circumstances following a raid by Punjab Police on her home.
They conducted the raid in order to arrest her son who is wanted for a crime. He had a case registered under sections of voluntarily causing hurt.
Relatives of the deceased have alleged that the policemen tortured Kulwant to get information on the whereabouts of her son.
They said that the injuries she suffered led to her death.
Kaur’s husband and other relatives met with SSP Swapan Sharma and demanded that the case should be registered against the officers who raided the home.
On Friday, April 19, 2019, officers conducted a raid in relation to the case against both her sons, Nirmal Singh and Naib Singh, who were involved in a scuffle in the village.
Naib had not yet been arrested, therefore, Punjab Police officers swooped on their home.
According to Maha Singh, Kulwant’s husband, the officers used extreme methods to find out where Naib was. He explained:
“On Friday, the police officials had tortured my wife Kulwant Kaur when I was unloading my wheat crop production in the grain market.
“The police had already sent to jail one of my sons, both who have been booked under section 326 of the IPC.
“The police from the last six months were harassing us by conducting raids in our house to nab my second son Naib Singh.
“The cops used to rebuke and insult us and even sometimes thrash us but we could not say anything to them.
“Naib had not come to my house since he was booked in the case six months back and we do not know about his whereabouts but the cops did not believe my wife and tortured her to death.
“The erring cops then escaped after my wife died.”
Kulwant’s family also claimed that the police had failed to register a case against the officers responsible for the death.
Instead, they booked several unidentified men as opposed to registering a murder case. They allege that they will only book the police officers once they have been identified.
DSP Sukhjit Singh Virk visited the area and said that Maha’s statement has been recorded and an inquiry was initiated.
“We have formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed SP Headquarter Ropar.
“The investigation will be done on merit and anyone found guilty will not be spared as the action would be taken according to the law.”