LIP MLA Simarjeet Bains booked for rape, he moves HC

Police registered a case even as the MLA moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a directive to quash the lower court order. The matter will come up for hearing on July 15.

Lok Insaf Party (LIP) MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains has been booked on the charges of rape, conspiracy and criminal intimidation, the Punjab Police said on Monday.

The FIR, against Bains and six others, was registered five days after a Ludhiana court ordered that a criminal case be filed on the complaint of a 44-year old woman.

Police registered a case even as the MLA moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a directive to quash the lower court order. The matter will come up for hearing on July 15.

The FIR filed by the Ludhiana police names Bains, his brothers — Karamjit Singh and Paramjit Singh — and four others — Baljinder Kaur, Jasbir Kaur, Sukhchain Singh and Gogi Sharma PA. The suspects have been booked under the Sections 376 (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with an intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (conspiracy) of IPC, at Ludhiana’s division number 6 police station.

The 44-year old victim, who is a widow and has alleged that she was ‘raped’ by MLA Bains multiple times, has been protesting for the past eight months demanding FIR against the MLA.

She has alleged that the MLA and his men had promised to help her in a property dispute case but instead started exploiting her sexually.

She had also reached Chandigarh on March 2 to protest outside Punjab Bhawan during the budget session, demanding action against the MLA.

While accusing Ludhiana police of not acting on her complaint for months, she has also alleged that she has been receiving threats from MLA.

The complainant said that action on her complaint was not initiated despite her sitting in protest outside the office of Ludhiana police commissioner on protest for months.

In his defence, Bains has moved the High Court through his counsel, Senior Advocate Randeep Rai, and Advocate Gautam Dutt. The plea argues that the order dated July 7, 2021, passed by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Ludhiana, directing resgistration of a criminal case against Bains in the case is “illegal”.

The plea says that the allegations are false, frivolous and baseless.

It has been contended that in case the proceedings pursuant to the order July 7, 2021, passed by the ACJM, Ludhiana and operation of the same is not stayed, the petitioner will suffer an irreparable loss and substantial injury. Bains has sought a stay on the operation of impugned order dated July 7, 2021 passed by the ACJM, Ludhiana.

On July 7, ACJM Harsimranjit Singh had in his order said: “In view of serious allegations levelled in the complaint, it becomes sine qua non that proper and thorough investigation regarding commission of forcible rape, sexual harassment, destruction of evidence and criminal intimidation should be carried out by the local police…. In view of above SHO, PS division number 6 is directed to register a criminal case at police station without any further delay treating the complaint/application of complainant as First Information Report and investigate into the same…”

The complainant’s case in the Ludhiana court was fought by SAD leader and advocate Harish Rai Dhanda, while Youth Akali Dal (YAD) has been supporting her during protests.

Simarjeet Singh Bains represents Atam Nagar constituency of Ludhiana in the Vidhan Sabha.

After the FIR was registered Monday, SAD held a massive protest outside office of Ludhiana police commissioner demanding Bains’ immediate arrest and said that they would gherao the residence of Cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu if the arrest was not made by Tuesday.

SAD leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Hira Singh Gabria also demanded that Simarjeet Bains’ membership of the Vidhan Sabha also be annulled. They said they would proceed separately to ensure this.

Grewal said: “Congress government did not take action against him because he enjoys the patronage of Cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu.”

SAD leader Dhanda said: “We will also take up the issue of destruction of vital evidence by the Ludhiana Police.”

“More such victims should come forward now,” he added.

Refuting all allegations, LIP MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains and his MLA brother Balwinder Singh Bains said that it was unfortunate that Akali Dal had stooped to the level of using a woman to score political points.

“SAD has lost its base in Punjab at this point of time and ahead of elections, it has stooped so low that it is now using a woman to settle political scores. SAD tried to win 2017 assembly polls by trying to get political mileage from incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and firing at protesters in 2017 but failed and this time, they have now involved a woman and using her as a weapon to defame my brother. Everyone knows that on whose behest the woman is acting. Her advocate Harish Rai Dhanda is a former SAD minister. He is a senior SAD leader and also wants ticket for 2022 polls,” said Balwinder Bains, MLA, Ludhiana (south), in a statement.

 

 

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