Badal assures police action in Tarn Taran rape case

Badal,who was on a spree to inaugurate development projects in the neighbouring border district of Gurdaspur,said “justice” was the leitmotif of the government and they were particularly concerned about the crime against women.

“The law will and must take its own course. The big ones cannot escape the laws,” Badal said.

Satnam Singh Kahlwan,his party’s leader and close relative of Rural and Panchayat Development Minister and senior Akali leader Ranjit Singh Brahampura,had been booked in the rape case but even after a month since the FIR was registered,he has not been arrested.

The victim and her mother Sukhpreet Kaur had alleged police inaction. They alleged that various officers including Tarn Taran SSP have gone on leave and many others were transferred to scuttle the investigations.

Meanwhile,Badal inaugurated a Rs14 crore bridge on the Ujj in Baliam sector of the district and the bridge—for the first time since Independence—will connect the 18 far-flung villages on Indo-Pak border with the mainland.

Badal said Rs 471 crore was being spent to construct more bridges to connect various villages. Accompanied by Agriculture Minister Sucha Singh Langah and Transport Minister Surjit Kumar Jiani,he later attended a Sangat Darshan programme at Pathankot organised by his former cabinet colleague and BJP leader Master Mohan Lal and announced Rs 2.3 crore for roads and said Rs 75 crore more would be released for water and sewerage development for Pathankot.

Earlier,Gurdaspur police picked up former District Youth Congress leader Kartik Wadhera as he had planned to show black flags to Badal for neglecting the area for development. He was released after Badal ended his tour of the area.