Family of Teen Wants Case Against Sukhbir Singh Badal
MOGA (Punjab): Amid massive political protests in Punjab over the death of a 14-year-old who was molested and then thrown off a moving bus on Wednesday, her family has refused to cremate her.
They have also turned down the state government’s offer of Rs. 20 lakh compensation and a job. The father of the teen has demanded a case against Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The teenager and her mother were attacked on a bus run by Orbit Aviation, a company owned by Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is the son of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
“I want justice. There should be an FIR (police complaint),” the girl’s father said on Friday.The teen and her mother were abused and groped by a group of men, including the conductor, before being thrown from the bus. The girl died instantly.
“We are deeply anguished. It is absurd to think ownership will allow brutality go unpunished,” Sukhbir Badal said today as he confronted allegations of a police cover-up to protect his family.
Opposition parties allege that it was because of the Badal connection that the police took 15 hours to arrest four men.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party took out protests in Punjab and Delhi and demanded that the bus company be shut down. They referenced the Uber case – the service was banned in Delhi after a woman passenger was allegedly raped by a cab driver.
They have alleged that buses run by Orbit often flout rules and that there is no fear of reprisal because of the connection to the ruling family.
This bus had tinted windows and curtains, which are not allowed.Opposition parties have also demanded the resignation of Sukhbir Badal’s wife Harsimrat Kaur, who is a minister at the Centre.
On Thursday, the girl’s father said he had been taken away by the police who “forced” him to sign some papers. He said he cannot read “but I put my thumbprint on the document.”
Senior police officer AS Chahal claimed that the father had only been made to sign his daughter’s post-mortem report.
