Wife of slain journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati dies at 68

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, February 10

Kulwant Kaur, 68, wife of late journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, died of a cardiac attack at her residence in Sirsa town today.

Chhatrapati, editor of “Poora Sach”, was killed by assailants in 2002 for carrying out reports about the Dera Sacha Sauda, headed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Prabhu Dayal, a close family aide, said her last rites were performed on Thursday afternoon in Sirsa. Kaur, along with her son Anshul Chhatrapati, had waged a long legal battle to get justice for her slain husband. Finally, the court convicted the Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the Chhatrapati murder case and he was sentenced to life imprisonment on January 17, 2019, by a special CBI court.

Her husband was the editor of the vernacular evening “Daily Poora Sach” and published an anonymous letter which accused the Dera chief of rape.

Chhatrapati was shot dead on October 24, 2002.

Lekhraj Dhot, Sirsa-based advocate and family friend of Chhatrapatis, stated that Kulwant Kaur was a fearless woman like her husband who never felt afraid of any kind of pressure. She showed nerves of steel during the entire legal battle.

Kaur raised her four children after her husband’s murder and fought a long legal battle. At the time of the murder, her eldest son Anshul was only 14 years old. On the day the dera chief was awarded the life sentence, she recalled her long and painful fight for justice, stating that even her close family relatives had lost hope of justice as the dera chief was a very influential and wealthy person.

Her family also used to get threats during the court trial in the case, but she never retracted and kept on fighting for justice. 

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