Woman sarpanch alleges molestation, five booked

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 23

A woman sarpanch of Modde village was allegedly thrashed and molested by several residents of the same village here three days ago.

The victim lodged a complaint with the police on Saturday following which a case was registered against five persons in this connection. Old enmity over election as sarpanch of the village was the cause behind the incident.

The 43-year-old victim, who is the sarpanch of the village, told the police that on Wednesday around 8 pm, she heard constant shouts outside her residence. She said as she opened the gate, Sharanjit Singh, Sarabjit Singh along with three unidentified persons were standing outside the house. They were equipped with sticks and iron rods and had been using abusive language. She said listening to shouts, her neighbour Sukhwinder Kaur came.

She alleged accused Sharanjit threw wooden stick used for washing clothes which hit Sukhwinder Kaur and she fell unconscious. She said the accused were shouting that they would teach her a lesson for contesting panchayat elections. She said she ran inside her house. She alleged Sharanjit removed her dupatta and made objectionable gestures.

Following her complaint, the police have registered a case under Sections 323, 354-A, 354-B, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC in this connection. The police said further investigations were underway while raids were on to nab the culprits.