Accused of theft, 4 of family jump into canal

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 16

After being booked in a theft case, a Nepali couple, along with their two children, jumped into the Bhakra canal here on Wednesday. While Basanti (30) and her daughter Sushmita (10) were saved by some residents, her husband Ram Chander (34) and son Yuvraj (7) drowned. Their bodies are yet to be traced.

The police said Ram Chander worked as a cook at Thapar University and his wife Basanti worked as domestic help at the house of a retired Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO), Bhagwan Singh. The family had been residing at his house for the past six years.

In her complaint, Basanti stated, “A few days back, Bhagwan Singh accused me of stealing some gold ornaments from his house. When I denied it, he first threatened me and then filed a complaint against me and my husband. A police team searched our house but did not find anything.”

Thereafter, the police summoned them at the Model Town police station, she said. “However, this afternoon, my husband took us all to the Bhakra canal and said he could not face such humiliation as he was innocent. Suddenly, he held all of us together and jumped into the canal,” said Basanti, who has been admitted to a hospital along with her daughter.

The police have registered a case of abetment to suicide against Bhagwan Singh and his wife.