Woman Asst Prof dies by suicide, Opp wants Punjab Minister Bains booked for abetment

Her husband Sapreet Singh handed over the note to 1158 Assistant Professors And Librarians, a front formed to carry on the struggle of such aspirants.

Balwinder’s brother Hardev Singh got an FIR lodged against Sapreet and latter’s father Bagh Singh accusing them of mentally harassing the woman, forcing her to take the extreme step.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Rupnagar, Viveksheel Soni said the police have not arrested anyone.

“The body is yet to be recovered. We have seen a suicide note being circulated on social media but it hasn’t been handed over to us till now. However, we have heard some voice notes the woman had sent to her parents saying that she was fed up of marital disputes happening on a daily basis at her house. On the statement of her brother, we have lodged an FIR against her husband and father-in-law,” the SSP said, adding the “suicide note” will be sent for forensic examination.

He said the brother has complained that woman was being pressured to have a boy as she already had a daughter due to which she had to abort her pregnancies twice.

As per the note, Balwinder was issued an appointment letter by the Punjab government in December 2021 to work as assistant professor. However, before she could get posting order, the matter went to court where it is pending. The note also mentioned that she had two miscarriages due to stress.

In 2021, then Congress government had advertised to fill up 1,158 posts of assistant professors and librarians in government colleges. Against these posts, 607 candidates were issued appointment letters, of which 124 got posted at different college in December 2021. But some aspirants challenged the selection process in Punjab and Haryana High Court following which, in August 2022, the entire selection process was quashed.

Punjab government has filed a review petition against the judgement.

Meanwhile, the protest by the assistant professors’ front entered 50th day Saturday. The front held a dharna outside Bains’ Gambirpur village residence in Rupnagar.

One of the protestors Pritpal Singh said, “Bains had met us once and told us to end our dharna but gave no assurance on jobs”. Another protester Jaswinder Kaur demanded probe into Balwinder’s suicide as “she has directly blamed the government”.

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal’s Bikram Singh Majithia and Congress’s Partap Singh Bajwa demanded that Bains be booked for abetment to suicide.

In a statement, Majithia said the candidate had been in depression for more than two years after the entire recruitment process of assistant professors had been scrapped.

“The minister has not cared to do anything in the case despite the fact that the front is protesting in the form of a dharna in front of his house. Attempts are also being made to divert attention from Bains by framing other reasons behind the suicide. This is condemnable”.

Majithia also took on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for failing to resolve the grievance of the assistant professors. “No attempt was made to adjust the candidates in any other way also which forced one of them to take this drastic step”, he added.

Bajwa, who is also the Leader of Oppostion, in a post on X, said “CM Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, must act efficiently and ask the police to pick up the education minister before he goes underground. This is the time for the AAP government to demonstrate its unbiased stance”.

The ruling AAP, however, hit back at the opposition leaders. Party’s chief spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang, in a post on X said, “In light of the distressing events surrounding the unfortunate demise of a woman due to harassment from her husband, it is indeed disheartening to witness the unscrupulous tactics employed by Opposition leaders. The entire ‘vulture kingdom’ has shamelessly propagated false narratives based on a purported suicide note, targeting Harjot Bains”.

Kang said it was a time when all should be united in empathy and compassion, offering support to those affected by this heart-wrenching event. “It is a time for dignified reflection, not for the politics of character assassination and false allegations,” he added.