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Murdered Kharar teacher had claimed threat to life in police complaint
The 29-year-old woman teacher, who was shot dead in front of her five-year-old daughter in Kharar on Thursday, had written to the Mohali police in September, claiming
The 29-year-old woman teacher, who was shot dead in front of her five-year-old daughter in Kharar on Thursday, had written to the Mohali police in September, claiming “threat to her life” from one Harwinder Singh Sandhu, a resident of Alkara village in Punjab’s Barnala district.
Praying for justice, the woman had marked the complaint to Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) against Sandhu for “committing rape, sexual exploitation, cheating, threatening and beating” after luring her on the pretext of marriage.
Dated September 30, the same letter was forwarded to the Punjab State Commission for Women as well.
10-YEAR ORDEAL NARRATED IN LETTER
In her 18-page letter to the police, the woman had narrated her 10-year ordeal of “torture” and “sexual exploitation” by Sandhu.
She stated that she first met Sandhu in 2009 at a call centre where the duo had appeared for interviews. There, he offered her help in finding a better job and gained her confidence. He later proposed her for marriage and got their passports ready.
She further wrote that in 2010, Sandhu sexually exploited her for the first time and later apologised and promised to marry her. But that never happened. “On April 4, 2012, he raped me again,” she mentioned.
Eventually they moved to Malaysia, and left for Paris in France in 2013. A year later, she delivered a baby girl.
It was in June 2018 that they returned to India, and moved to Mohali in November 2018.
Throughout this period, he delayed their marriage citing one or the other excuse, and would torture and assault her in front of their daughter, she alleged.
In June 2019, she got to know that he was married and had two daughters. On confronting him, he threatened her.
‘THREATENED ME AT MY PARENTS’ HOUSE’
She ended the letter by stating: “Many times he threatened me even after June 17 (2019) for not to take any action against him. On June 24, he came to the house of my parents and threatened me and said, ‘Tu apni harkatan toh baaj nahi aai, mere baare mere hi pind ch enquiry kardi firdi hain. Isda result tainu mil javega jadon main tainu te (daughter’s name hidden) nu jaan toh maar davanga. Main tere te tere ghardeyaan di puri society ch badnami kar daunga, je mere khilaaf tu police ch complaint kitti. Police vi mera kuch nahi vigaad sakdi (You haven’t mended your ways and have been enquiring about me at my village. For this, I will kill you and your daughter. I will ruin your family’s reputation in society if you file a police complaint against me. Police can’t touch me)’.”
On Thursday, the woman, a French and Punjabi teacher at a private school in Kharar, was shot dead when she had reached work with her daughter, a student at the school, around 8am. She took three bullets — one on the left side of her face, another below her neck and one in the stomach.
A case under Section 302 (murder), and 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act was registered.
The woman is survived by her parents and a younger brother, a BBA student at a private college in Landran.
While it was earlier reported that the woman was married to Sandhu, following her police complaint coming to light, it has come to fore that she was in a live-in relationship with him.
Her family on the other hand was under the impression that she was married to Sandhu, a travel agent based in Barnala.
WOMAN DID APPROACH ME: SSP
On his part, SSP Kuldeep Singh Chahal said, “The woman had approached me and said that she wanted to register a case of rape against Harwinder Singh Sandhu. As they were together for 10 years and have a daughter as well, I told her ‘rape case register nahi ho sakta (can’t register rape case), but in your case Sections 420, 498 and 406 can be registered’.”
On why a rape charge could not be added, he said, “You get to know if it’s a rape case or not.”
When asked the woman’s concern for her life, the SSP said, “Such complaints are written by advocates, and in 99% cases, they mention threat to life. We have around 300 such complaints pending.”
SSP Chahal, however, said on the basis of her complaint, summons was issued to Sandhu. “His mother appeared before the police, and said he had been abroad for the past six months. Our investigation had revealed that he was in India 15 days before the incident. So, either the mother was unaware or she lied to us.”
PRIME SUSPECT AT LARGE
Meanwhile, Sandhu remains absconding. His mobile phone is switched off.
Chahal said the police had issued a look-out circular against him to prevent him from fleeing abroad.
Stating that they had leads and were hopeful of tracking him down by Saturday, Kharar deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Simranjeet Singh Lang said nine teams of police were working to solve the case.
They were also probing whether it was a contract killing, he added.
Police have also yet to recover the Ford car used by the assailant to flee.
PARENTS UNABLE TO BREAK NEWS TO GRAND DAUGHTER
Over 24 hours after they lost their daughter, parents of the deceased haven’t been able to muster up the courage to break it to their five-year-old granddaughter that her mother is no more.
“She didn’t sleep well last night, and has been constantly crying, asking where her mother is,” the deceased’s brother said.
“We don’t know how to make it clear to her. Since she witnessed her mother being shot, she is in shock and unable to understand what actually happened,” he said, adding that they were keeping her busy by playing games and cracking jokes to keep her mind away from the incident.
The woman’s father said they hadn’t even told the child about her mother’s cremation. “It was a shocking incident to witness. It will take some time for her to recover,” he said.
