NRI threatens self-immolation at Badal’s residence

Thursday, 31/07/2014

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140731/punjab.htm#11

Chandigarh : Claiming to be a victim of Ludhiana's "police shielded" land mafia, a 66-year-old NRI woman today threatened to commit self-immolation in front of the residence of the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on August 15, if the "police aided" Ludhiana land mafia continued to torment her.

Joginder Kaur Sandhu, claiming to be an NRI from France and originally hailing from Kotla Naudh Singh village in Hoshiarpur district, has alleged that 14 "false" police cases were registered against her in the past 10 years at the "behest of Ludhiana land mafia". The Punjab Police has, however, refuted her contention asserting that it had not been indulging in any vendetta against Joginder Kaur.

"There is no police vendetta of any kind against Joginder Kaur Sandhu. She has allegedly been taking money from people on the promise of sending them abroad," said IG (NRI Wing) Gurpreet Deo.

Joginder Kaur Sandhu presented a report issued by the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate to buttress her allegations. The report indicated that she was aquitted in seven of the nine cases and one was quashed by a court. The Punjab Police, however, has refused to give any clean chit to her alleging that she had been "indulging in shady travel agent kind of dealings and frauds".

"The powerful land mafia of Ludhiana, led by a financier having a strong nexus with some Punjab Police officials, including a woman DSP and an SHO, has been trying to usurp my residential property since 2004 by embroiling me in false cases. I am tired of taking rounds to the offices of the CM, the Deputy CM and the courts. But, I have not got any justice over the past 10 years. Now, I have got tired. If I am not accorded justice by the government within 15 days, I will immolate myself in front of the Chandigarh residence of the Chief Minister on August 15," she said.

Joginder Kaur alleged the police officials concerned had implicated her in a "false" case that took place while she was away to France to meet her family.

She said when the "false" cases registered against her in Ludhiana started falling in the court, the land mafia got her "falsely implicated" at Hoshiarpur, Ropar, Jalandhar, Mukatsar and Jagadhari.

"I was booked in one such case on the basis of a complaint of one Kamaljit Kaur of Jalandhar. Later on, that woman withdrew the complaint against me and gave an affidavit that she had nothing to do with me and had never given her passport to me. This is the height of highhandedness on part of the police to torment a woman to such an extent," she said.

Gurpreet Deo, however, countered the allegations of Joginder Kaur Sandhu saying the Punjab Police had never resorted to any kind of "vendetta" against her. "Prima facie Joginder Kaur Sandhu was involved in some shady deals particularly, related to travel agency business. We had probed her case and her allegations were not found to be true. How can someone pursue vendetta for over 10 years and how can someone be so powerful to get someone booked in so many false cases, particularly in other states? There are courts. The system is not so hopeless," he said.