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Ludhiana: Panchayat member among three booked for stabbing homemaker
Woman critical; police say accused had allegedly been stalking her for months after she rejected his advances
A 42-year-old homemaker was stabbed multiple times allegedly by a panchayat member and his two aides in Khanna on Sunday. Police said the accused, who had been in a relationship with the woman before her marriage nearly 20 years ago, had allegedly been stalking her for the past few months and attacked her after she repeatedly rejected his advances. The woman was admitted to hospital in a critical condition.
According to police, the main accused is Sharanjit Singh, 49, a resident of Harion Kalan village in Samrala and a member of the village panchayat. His two accomplices are yet to be identified.
Police said an FIR has been registered and efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
The victim, identified as Rajni, a homemaker, had come to her parental home in Khanna two days ago. She had gone to the local vegetable market on Sunday afternoon and was returning home when three men travelling in a Skoda car allegedly intercepted her.
According to the police, the assailants attacked Rajni with sharp-edged weapons, inflicting eight to 10 stab wounds to her head, chest and back. They allegedly snatched her purse and mobile phone before fleeing from the spot.
Despite suffering grievous injuries, Rajni managed to reach her parental home, where her family found her bleeding profusely and rushed her to the civil hospital in Khanna. After she was stabilised, doctors referred her to Chandigarh for advanced treatment.
Senior medical officer Dr Maninder Singh Bhasin said, “Rajni had sustained eight to 10 deep stab wounds and lost a significant amount of blood. A team of six doctors was constituted to provide emergency treatment before she was referred to a larger hospital in Chandigarh.”
Rajni’s husband runs a small cycle parts manufacturing unit in Ludhiana. Her brother, Nitin, said she had left home around 1.15 pm to buy vegetables. The family learnt about the attack only after she reached home with critical injuries and bleeding profusely.
Deputy superintendent of police Vinod Kumar said, “Preliminary investigation indicated that three men travelling in a Skoda car were involved in the attack.”
Station house officer Talwinder Bedi of City-2 police station said, “Sharanjit had allegedly been stalking the woman for the past few months and was pressuring her to continue a relationship they had two decades ago before her marriage. The woman repeatedly turned him down,”
“We have identified the accused and a manhunt is on to arrest them,” the SHO added.
