E-Paper
Sangrur Dalit’s murder: Kin refuse to take body, adamant on demands
Post-mortem on the body, which is lying at the mortuary of the institute, was not conducted either
The family members of Jagmail Singh, a Dalit construction worker who was tortured by four upper-caste men in a Sangrur village before he died at PGIMER in Chandigarh, stayed adamant on their demands of ₹50 lakh compensation and a government job, refusing to take the victim’s body for the second consecutive day on Sunday.
Post-mortem on the body, which is lying at the mortuary of the institute, was not conducted either.
Jagmail’s sister Baljeet Kaur said, “We will not allow autopsy until our demands are not fulfilled.”
His wife Manjit Kaur demanded stricter punishment to the culprits, saying they will continue with their sit-in till justice is not done in the case.
Punjab cabinet minister Sadhu Singh Dharmsot on Sunday evening met the family members requesting them to give permission for post-mortem so that ₹8.25 lakh compensation could be provided under the Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) Act.
The family also rejected the offer of the minister who was flanked by the political adviser to chief minister Sandeep Sandhu and Sangrur district administration officials.
“I have offered whatever I could in my capacity. We have offered them the compensation (₹8.25 lakh) under the SC/ST Act. The other demands can be met only after the CM returns from his foreign trip,” Dharmsot said.
‘Death due to traumatic gas gangrene’
The medical certificate the PGIMER doctors have issued mentions traumatic gas gangrene as the cause of the victim’s death after both his legs were amputated on Friday evening. He died at 3:53am on Saturday. One leg was amputated from above the knee, while the other was removed from the thigh.
According to the medical certificate, he was assaulted with wooden sticks.
