Woman who fell off police jeep roof booked, villagers protest

Amritsar, September 27: Even as a case was registered against a woman who fell from a speeding Punjab Police vehicle’s roof after she was allegedly forced to sit there, villagers in Amritsar district protested on Thursday against the police “high-handedness”.

The protesters from Shehzada and adjoining villages blocked a road near the village and demanded action against the erring police officials.

Jaswinder Kaur, aged around 35, of Shehzada village was caught on CCTV while falling from the police jeep’s roof on September 25. The matter came to light after the footage emerged on the social media.

She received injuries on the head and wrist and was admitted to the Civil Hospital in Majitha town, nearly 245 km from here. She alleged that police drove her for a good three kilometers before she fell near Chawinda Devi area of Amritsar district.

The police booked Kaur and 7-8 others from her family and village on charges of attacking a police team and damaging their vehicle.

Police officials said that a case had also been registered against the Crime Branch team that went to Kaur’s house to arrest her father-in-law Kulwant Singh.

The police have also ordered an inquiry.

The protesters alleged that Punjab Police was shielding its erring personnel and indulging in high-handedness by registering a case against the victim.

While the woman accused police officials of forcibly putting her on the jeep bonnet and claimed she climbed on to the roof of the moving vehicle to save herself, police said she and other villagers had attacked the police team and even broken a windowpane of the vehicle.

The police claimed that the police team tried to drive away but the woman climbed the jeep bonnet to prevent them from doing so and later fell from its roof.

The woman alleged that she was forced on to the jeep roof by police as ‘punishment’ after she resisted an attempt to whisk away her husband.

The police team had gone to her house to arrest her father-in-law in connection with a property dispute. But as he was not at home, they wanted to take away her husband, the woman said.

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