Punjab: Family protests for arrest in suicide case

Punjab: Family members of Kanta Devi, who committed suicide on January 14, blocked traffic by staging a dharna on the Hoshiarpur-Chandigarh road in front of the Garhshankar police station. They demanded the arrest of Kanta Devi’s father-in-law and other accused in the abetment to suicide case. The protesters raised slogans against the Punjab Police, leading to a long queue of vehicles on both sides of the road. Kanta Devi’s brother Raj Kumar, mother Santosh Kumari and maternal uncle Subhash Chandra alleged that her husband and in-laws had been harassing her since her marriage. The police arrested her husband Gagandeep, but did not arrest father-in-law Kewal Krishan and other accused. They alleged that Kewal Krishan’s position in the police force was affecting the investigation. The family accused the police of delaying the arrest of Kewal Krishan, mother-in-law and sister-in-law. The protest ended after talks with Garhshankar Deputy Superintendent of Police Jaspreet Singh, when he assured the protesters that the remaining accused would be arrested by Saturday.