E-Paper
Police file charge-sheet against MLA Bains in rape case
Ludhiana Police have filed a charge-sheet against MLA Bains in court, four months after booking him. The charge-sheet names Bains and his brothers and has been filed for rape, criminal conspiracy etc
Ludhiana Four months after booking Lok Insaaf Party MLA Simarjit Singh Bains in a case of rape, issuing threats and criminal intimidation, the Ludhiana Police have filed a charge-sheet against him in court. The 44-year-old victim, a widow, has alleged that she was ‘raped’ by MLA Bains multiple times, and had been protesting for eight months prior to the registration of the FIR.
The charge-sheet names Bains, his brothers — Karamjit Singh and Paramjit Singh — and four others — Baljinder Kaur, Jasbir Kaur, Sukhchain Singh and Gogi Sharma PA. The charge-sheet has been filed under Sections 376 (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with an intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (conspiracy) of the IPC. The next date of hearing is November 18.
The victim has also alleged that the MLA and his men had promised to help her in a property dispute, but started exploiting her sexually instead. After the police failed to register a case initially, the woman had moved court.
In his July 7 order, additional chief judicial magistrate Harsimranjit Singh had said: “Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures. The unsuspecting victim is a hapless woman...with the first responder, police agency having turned a blind eye to her hideous abuse, she knocked the door of the court. The real cause of concern is whether a miserable and poor victim of sexual exploitation be expected to get justice by lodging the private complaint and collecting evidence from a place alien to her and against the perpetrators who are powerful and resourceful. In case the directions for registering of case is not made, the entire case of complainant would crumble and it would tantamount to failure of justice.”
