<p>A woman minister in Punjab, Bibi Jagir Kaur, was arrested and sent to jail on Friday after a CBI special court sentenced her to a five-year jail term in a case relating to the death of her daughter Harpreet Kaur in April 2000.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Jagir Kaur, who was recently sworn in as a Cabinet minister in the Parkash Singh Badal-ruled government with panchayats and rural water supply portfolios, resigned immediately after the verdict by the special CBI court in Patiala, some 100 km from here, the state capital.<br /><br />Jagir Kaur, a former president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), was held guilty by the court for criminal conspiracy, illegal confinement and involvement in the forcible abortion of her daughter’s 27-week male foetus. The court of Balbir Singh, special Judge, CBI in Patiala, acquitted her of the charge of murder of her 19-year-old daughter. <br /><br />On April 20, 2000, Harpreet Kaur alias Rosy died under mysterious circumstances . A day later, the body was cremated in the minister’s village without even a post-mortem. Kamaljit Singh, a young boy of the same village, had claimed to have married Harpreet and moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court here a few days later, accusing Bibi Jagir Kaur of murdering Rosy. He claimed that their marriage was the reason for Rosy's death. He alleged that their child was forcibly aborted a month before Harpreet’s murder. He had claimed "irrefutable documentary and photographic evidence" of pregnancy and their wedding.<br /><br />Strangely, Kamaljit Singh turned hostile in 2010 and stayed away from court hearings. He is accused of stating later that he never married the girl.<br /><br />The Punjab and Haryana High Court had handed over the case to the CBI after a Punjab police special investigation team failed to provide results. <br /><br />The CBI filed the charge-sheet against Jagir Kaur and others about a decade ago, alleging her involvement in her pregnant daughter’s death. The CBI named 134 people as witnesses in the case. <br /><br />It even arrested Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi and Paramjit Singh Raipur—a Phagwara-based couple—on the charges of forcible abortion, conspiring to murder and destruction of evidence. Balwinder Singh Sohal, a government doctor and a crucial witness, was named an accused in the case but he turned an approver. He died in a road accident after recording his statement in court in 2008.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the court held three others—Paramjit Singh, Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi and Nishan Singh guilty—of kidnapping and wrongful confinement of Harpreet Kaur. Nishan Singh was Jagir Kaur’s official escort. <br /><br />Dalwinder and Paramjit were also convicted for terminating Harpreet’s pregnancy without her consent. Both were sentenced to five-year jail terms. Two others accused in the case were acquitted of all charges.</p>
<p>A woman minister in Punjab, Bibi Jagir Kaur, was arrested and sent to jail on Friday after a CBI special court sentenced her to a five-year jail term in a case relating to the death of her daughter Harpreet Kaur in April 2000.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Jagir Kaur, who was recently sworn in as a Cabinet minister in the Parkash Singh Badal-ruled government with panchayats and rural water supply portfolios, resigned immediately after the verdict by the special CBI court in Patiala, some 100 km from here, the state capital.<br /><br />Jagir Kaur, a former president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), was held guilty by the court for criminal conspiracy, illegal confinement and involvement in the forcible abortion of her daughter’s 27-week male foetus. The court of Balbir Singh, special Judge, CBI in Patiala, acquitted her of the charge of murder of her 19-year-old daughter. <br /><br />On April 20, 2000, Harpreet Kaur alias Rosy died under mysterious circumstances . A day later, the body was cremated in the minister’s village without even a post-mortem. Kamaljit Singh, a young boy of the same village, had claimed to have married Harpreet and moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court here a few days later, accusing Bibi Jagir Kaur of murdering Rosy. He claimed that their marriage was the reason for Rosy's death. He alleged that their child was forcibly aborted a month before Harpreet’s murder. He had claimed "irrefutable documentary and photographic evidence" of pregnancy and their wedding.<br /><br />Strangely, Kamaljit Singh turned hostile in 2010 and stayed away from court hearings. He is accused of stating later that he never married the girl.<br /><br />The Punjab and Haryana High Court had handed over the case to the CBI after a Punjab police special investigation team failed to provide results. <br /><br />The CBI filed the charge-sheet against Jagir Kaur and others about a decade ago, alleging her involvement in her pregnant daughter’s death. The CBI named 134 people as witnesses in the case. <br /><br />It even arrested Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi and Paramjit Singh Raipur—a Phagwara-based couple—on the charges of forcible abortion, conspiring to murder and destruction of evidence. Balwinder Singh Sohal, a government doctor and a crucial witness, was named an accused in the case but he turned an approver. He died in a road accident after recording his statement in court in 2008.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the court held three others—Paramjit Singh, Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi and Nishan Singh guilty—of kidnapping and wrongful confinement of Harpreet Kaur. Nishan Singh was Jagir Kaur’s official escort. <br /><br />Dalwinder and Paramjit were also convicted for terminating Harpreet’s pregnancy without her consent. Both were sentenced to five-year jail terms. Two others accused in the case were acquitted of all charges.</p>
