Gurdwara management chief rapes 58-yr-old woman in Ludhiana, booked

The accsued, a member of the gurdwara satsang ghar management committee had also recently been involved in an altercation with the victim, a resident of Ludhiana’s New Janta Nagar

Police booked the ‘pradhan’ of a local gurdwara management for allegedly raping a 58-year-old woman on multiple occasions over a one-year period on the pretext of helping her sons settle down abroad.

Ludhiana police booked a gurdwara management chief accused of rape by 58-year-old woman. (HT File)

The accused, Pavittar Singh, 55, of Shimlapuri, a member of the gurdwara satsang ghar management committee had also recently been involved in an altercation with the victim, a resident of New Janta Nagar.

The complainant said the accused promised to help her children settle abroad and took advantage of her financial condition, forcing her to establish a physical relationship with him. She alleged that the accused had raped one multiple occasions in past year — most recently on June 1, before adding that he had also threatened to kill her family if she spoke out about her orderal The complainant spoke to her family, who confronted the accused resulting in the aforementioned clash.

Assistant Sub-inspector Jaswinder Singh, investigating officer, said the police conducted a raid to arrest the accused, but he remains on the run. He has been booked under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The ASI said the victim lives her with his husband and daughter-in-law, while her two sons are currently living in Kenya.

A rape-accused, meanwhile, on Tuesday escaped police custody from the civil hospital day after his arrest accused for allegedly raping a 16-year-old co-worker. He had been taken to the hospital for a medical examination.

The accused, a resident of Gill Colony, had pushed the police personnel as they approached the hospital’s emergency ward before escaping. He has been booked at the Division number 2 police station.

In her complaint, the victim had said the accused — a co-worker — had promised to marry her after having befriended her at work. The accused allegedly raped her on Septermber 2 after taking her to an isolated area in Sahnewal. The complainant did not report the incident, but the rape came to fore after she was admitted to a hospital over health complications on September 10

Police had on Monday booked the accused under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act before arresting him.

Hayatpura residents thrash teacher for ‘molesting’ student

Residents of Hayatpura village thrashed a government primary school teacher for allegedly sexually abusing a Class 4 student over an extended period of time, later handing him over to the Koomkalan police. The villagers also informed the education department about the incident and sought the accused’s transfer. The victim’s mother said her eight-year-old daughter, a student of Class 4 at the village’s government primary school, had been under stress over the last few days. She had limited her interactions with them and would spend most of her time in her room.

The eight-year-old eventually spoke to her mother, saying the accused school teachers had been molesting her for the past several days. She said the teacher would touch her inappropriately and threatened to beat her if she talked about the same.

The woman then informed her husband and later made a complaint to the village panchayat. The villagers gathered at the school and thrashed the teacher before handing him over to the police. The teacher confessed to the act. Sub-inspector Bhupinder Singh, who is investigating the case, said that the family has not filed an official complaint yet, adding that police will take appropriate action after recording family members’ statement.