22-year-old Ludhiana woman suicide case: Accused’s mother, brother named in fresh FIR

The victim’s family has not yet given approval for the post-mortem examination, and her body remains in the civil hospital mortuary, police said

Police have named the mother and brother of a 25-year-old man in an FIR registered in connection with the death by suicide case of a 22-year-old woman in Harcharan Nagar, widening the scope of the investigation into allegations of harassment and firing outside her house.

As reported earlier, the woman was found hanging from a ceiling fan around 11 am on Tuesday. (HT File)

According to police, the accused, Divanshu Bagga, a Haibowal resident, has been booked for abetment to suicide, criminal intimidation and other offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), besides provisions of the Arms Act. His mother, Kajol, and brother, Cheenu, have also been booked for alleged abetment to suicide.

The victim’s family has not yet given approval for the post-mortem examination, and her body remains in the civil hospital mortuary, police said.

According to the complaint lodged by the victim’s family, Bagga had been pressuring her to marry him despite repeated refusals. Her mother had previously approached his relatives, asking them to intervene and stop him from troubling her daughter. The family alleged that he continued to harass her.

In his statement to the police, the victim’s brother alleged that Bagga and his associates barged into their house on November 2, abused and threatened the family, and fired shots from an illegal firearm before fleeing in his Mahindra Thar. The family linked the incident to the woman’s death, alleging that she was distressed by the continued harassment and threats and the ruckus created by the man outside their house.

Bagga, however, had given a contrasting account. He claimed that the woman had called him to meet her on Monday night, which was his birthday. He alleged that her brother, mother and some others intercepted his Thar, pelted it with bricks and fired more than 15 rounds at the SUV, damaging its windows, seats and tyres. He also claimed that a brick hit his friend on the head and that he managed to flee. The woman’s family denied that she had called him.

Bagga had not lodged a formal complaint with the police before the woman’s death.

The FIR invokes Sections 108, 324(4), 351(2), 191(3), 190, and 333 (house trespass) of the BNS, besides Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. Inspector Gurjit Singh, SHO of Division Number 3 police station, said the allegations are being probed.