Patiala ‘murder’: 2 remanded in police custody, mayor not held

The two people arrested on charges of murder of 28-year-old married woman Parampreet Kaur in Patiala were remanded in three-day police custody by a Patiala court on Tuesday.

The accused include the husband of the victim, Harpreet Singh, and her mother-in-law, Paramjeet Kaur. Patiala Mayor Jaspal Singh Pardhan, who has also been accused in the case, is yet to be arrested.

Though the FIR lodged by the Patiala police mentioned Pardhan as the father-in-law of the deceased and Harpreet Singh as Pardhan's son, while seeking remand of the two, the SIT members mentioned Harpreet as the son of Tarlochan Singh. Tarlochan Singh is reportedly the deceased husband of Paramjeet Kaur.

The SIT constituted by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for an impartial probe into the case is yet to question the mayor in the case. The mayor on Monday tendered his resignation, following his alleged involvement in the case. Pardhan could not be contacted, but a family associate of the mayor said that he was "ready for any probe". "The mayor has been dragged into the controversy, because of his political position. He is even ready for a CBI probe. He has resigned, because he does not want to come in the way of the investigation," said the family associate, on condition of anonymity.

The SIT members investigating the case had called the victim's family to gather more information. "We were asked if Harpreet had any association with criminals. We gave them all the information we had," said Tejinder Singh Sodhi, the victim's uncle. He demanded that the mayor be soon arrested. "If he is allowed to roam around freely he will tamper with the evidence against him," Sodhi added.

Despite repeated attempts, Deputy Inspector General of Police R K Jaiswal, who is heading the SIT in the absence of IG Shashi Prabha Diwedi, could not be contacted.

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