Avinash Azad
Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 2: A woman, who sustained burn injuries, while preventing her husband from self-immolation, due to alleged Police harassment in Sidhra, area died at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H) here on Sunday morning, while her husband with reportedly 75 percent burn injuries is undergoing treatment.
Dilawar Singh Jamwal on 31/12/2021 tried to end his life by self-immolation, and her wife Pornoo Devi tried to douse the fire but she also sustained burn injuries. Locals and relatives of the family told the media that the alleged Police harassment forced the couple to take this extreme-step.
“After the incident both were shifted to GMC&H for treatment”, said Amandeep Singh Boparai, a social activist, who was supporting the poor family since October last year, when the feud between two cousins hampered ongoing construction of Dilawar’s house.
“The woman died this morning at the hospital, while her husband is battling for life,” he said, adding that biasedness in Police approach could be gauged from the fact that even after three days of the immolation incident, statement of the victims was not recorded.
The couple has a 10-year-old son, who would take care of him if something adverse happens to his father, the local said, adding that the poor family was living in a temporary shed, as the construction work of their dream-house being built under PMAY could not be completed.
“This morning after the death of woman, an investigation officer (IO) from Police Station Nagrota reached victim’s family for recording the statement, but instead of gathering information from the locals, he noted down that the couple burnt during explosion in a kerosene stove”, Boparai told media, adding that.
However, the people present there staged a protest, later senior Police officer reached on the spot and an actual report on the bases of locals’ statement was recorded,
“Police were harassing the helpless family. However, the family also approached higher authorities, but In-charge Police Post Sidhra did not entertain their plea. The Police were frequently visiting victim’s house and they were also being summoned at Police Post almost on daily basis”, he added.
“Karan Singh, a cousin of Dilawar Singh has brought a court stay in October 2021 over some land dispute and the Police did its job by implementing court’s status quo order”, SDPO Nagrota Parupkar Singh said.
“It was an accident, as the lady who was trying to prevent her husband, burnt her-self and died today”, said SHO Nagrota, Vishav Partap Singh, adding that inquest proceeding in the case has begun. |
