4 held after girl ‘jumps into canal to save her modesty’ in Anandpur Sahib

The father said he got a call around 7.30pm on Sunday from a man, who identified himself as Anil Kumar of Kurali, that “some mishappening” had occurred and that he should reach Anandpur Sahib.

A 17-year-old girl purportedly killed herself by jumping into a canal to save herself from rape while on an excursion trip with friends near Anandpur Sahib in the early hours of Sunday, police said here on Monday. While the body is yet to be recovered, four persons have been arrested; they include the victim’s two female friends who are also minor (under 18) and hence not being named.

While the body is yet to be recovered, four persons have been arrested. (HT Photo/Representative image)

According to Rupnagar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raj Bachan Singh Sandhu, a man from Kurali (Mohali) gave a statement at the Anandpur Sahib police station in the district that, on September 2 (Saturday) his 17-year-old daughter informed him on telephone that she and her two female friends were going to the Naina Devi shrine nearby to pay obeisance and would return next morning. It is alleged that two men — Jasvir Singh alias Satnam of Kurali and Gurjot Singh alias Jot of Chatamla village (Rupnagar), both aged around 23 — also reached there that night after being called by the two female friends.

The father said he got a call around 7.30pm on Sunday from a man, who identified himself as Anil Kumar of Kurali, that “some mishappening” had occurred and that he should reach Anandpur Sahib. There, he learnt that his daughter had jumped into the Bhakra Canal around 1.30am last night near the town.

The two arrested girls were produced in a juvenile court and sent to the government shelter Nari Niketan in Jalandhar till September 13. The two men are in police custody.