A Fatehgarh Sahib court on Thursday awarded 10-year sentence to Kirpal Singh, son of a senior Akali leader, in a rape case.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 13,000 on him. In default of payment of fine, he would have to further go imprisonment for one year.
After hearing the decision of the court of additional sessions judge, Fatehgarh Sahib, senior SAD leader and former chairman of Block Samiti, Khera, Satnam Singh Brass was so upset that he allegedly created a scene near the court complex. Police booked Brass as a cautionary measure.
On the statement of a Class 12 student, the Mulepur police had registered a case against Kirpal Singh, and his driver Bhupinder Singh, residents of Brass village, on July 20, 2009. She had alleged that she used to go to Guru Nanak Public School, Chunni Kalan, in school van during vacations as class-12 students were called by their teacher for extra classes. She was standing at the bridge of the canal at Brass in the morning when Kirpal Singh and his driver Bhupinder Singh came there in their car; Kirpal came out of the car and dragged her inside the car.
When the family of the victim came to know of it, they tried to follow the accused in a car but could not keep up with them. The two took her to sector 17, Chandigarh, and both raped her in the running car.
{{/usCountry}}When the family of the victim came to know of it, they tried to follow the accused in a car but could not keep up with them. The two took her to sector 17, Chandigarh, and both raped her in the running car.
{{/usCountry}}When the case was registered against Kirpal Singh, his father Satnam Singh Brass was chairman of the Block Samiti, Khera. Bhupinder Singh was declared a proclaimed offender in the case.
According to the victim's family, the police had refused to take action against the accused and started to press the victim and her parents for compromise. Then they filed a petition in the court against Kirpal Singh, Bhupinder Singh and Satnam Singh.
They said their petition was pending in the court but the police quashed the FIR under alleged political pressure. They alleged that the medical examination of the girl also confirmed rape.
When the summons was issued to Satnam Singh in the case, he approached the Punjab and Haryana high court and got relief. So the court has given decision against Kirpal Singh only as Bhupinder Singh is a PO in the case.