For consuming alcohol in Punjab gurdwara, woman shot dead

Press Trust of India

Patiala: A woman, who was undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction, was shot dead for allegedly consuming liquor on the premises of a gurdwara here, police said on Monday.

The accused, who has been arrested, said he committed the act in a fit of anger as his religious sentiments were hurt, they said. Parwinder Kaur, in her late 30s, was allegedly consuming liquor near the ‘sarovar’ (holy pond) of Dukhniwaran Sahib gurdwara on Sunday evening. Nirmaljit Singh Saini, a regular visitor to the gurdwara, shot at Kaur multiple times using his licensed revolver, Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varun Sharma said.

Saini, a property dealer with no previous criminal records, told gurdwara officials that he was upset over the incidents of sacrilege, including the recent one at Morinda gurdwara, police said. The accused was produced before a court here that sent him to 14-day judicial custody. “Parwinder Kaur was having liquor near the ‘sarovar’ of gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib. When the sangat noticed this, they decided to take her to the manager’s office,” Patiala SSP Sharma said.

As Kaur emerged from the gurdwara manager’s room accompanied by police personnel, she was fired at by Saini, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) officials said, adding that the man surrendered before police voluntarily and handed over his weapon to them. “Saini fired five rounds at the woman with his 32- bore licensed revolver,” police said in an official statement. The SSP said three bullets hit Kaur and she died on the spot. Police said a man also received bullet injury in the incident. He has been hospitalised and is stated to be in a stable condition.

According to police, preliminary investigation revealed that Kaur was undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction. Sharma said a prescription slip of a de-addiction centre here was recovered from her belongings. She had mood swings and depression, doctors had said in the prescription. No family member has come to claim the body of Kaur, who boarded a bus from Zirakpur on Sunday to reach the gurdwara, yet or to give any statement, the SSP said, adding that they have not been able to identify where she stayed.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had recently undergone divorce proceedings. Meanwhile, members of various Sikh bodies reached the court complex where Saini was produced by police and greeted him by showering flower petals when he was later escorted out by police after being remanded to judicial custody