Under attack, CM says Moga incident intolerable, painful

Tribune News Service

Moga/Patiala, May 3 

Under attack, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today described as "intolerable" and "painful" the incident in Moga involving molestation of a girl and pushing her to death from a moving bus belonging to a company owned by his family.

The Chief Minister met the father and other family members of the girl, whose death has sparked a major political row, and assured of "exemplary" punishment to the people responsible for her death.

Badal condoled the tragic demise of the girl and said, "I came here as the father of girl (victim). As the Chief Minister of the state and a father figure. I being personally responsible for safeguarding the honour of every daughter of Punjab. Wherever someone tries to outrage the honour of Punjab's daughter he will be given exemplary punishment under the strictest provisions of the law."

To a query about the culpability of the concerned bus company owned by his family, Badal said that no one was beyond the reach of law. "Whatever the provisions of law extend to the culprit or to the bus company, these will be fully complied with. Only the rule of law will prevail, that is my personal guarantee and assurance to the people of Punjab especially the daughters of the state."

The girl was cremated today at Lande Ke village and before that her family members met the Chief Minister here.

"This (Moga bus incident) is intolerable. The death of a girl in such conditions is very painful to me...I am going to Moga (to meet the family of girl)," Badal said in Patiala while talking to reporters.

Badal, who was in Patiala to pay homage to the mother of former minister Ajaib Singh Mukhmailpur. spent just 10 minutes at the venue there and left for Moga.

Expressing deep sorrow over the death of teenage girl, he said that one could not compensate the loss of death. However, he refused to make any comment on the visit of opposition party leaders to Moga over the issue.

The state government has been facing the ire from several quarters including Aam Aadmi Party and Congress over the incident.