A 70-year-old retired Punjab Police assistant sub-inspector (ASI) reportedly died by suicide by hanging himself from an iron rod on the roof of his house here on Sunday. Police have booked his two sons, who are in their thirties, for abetment to suicide after recovering a suicide note in which the deceased reportedly held them responsible for driving him to take the extreme step.
The Jamalpur police on Sunday registered an FIR against Lovepreet Singh and Harpreet Singh, residents of Patti in Tarn Taran district, on the basis of the suicide note and a complaint lodged by the deceased’s wife, Kiran Devi. The accused are the victim’s sons from his first marriage.
In her complaint, Kiran Devi, in her forties, told police that she married Gurdev Singh five years ago and that the couple has two daughters aged five years and 10 months, respectively. She said it was Gurdev Singh’s second marriage. According to her, Gurdev Singh’s first marriage had ended in divorce, following which the mother of Lovepreet and Harpreet remarried. The two sons, however, continued to reside on the first floor of Gurdev Singh’s house. Kiran Devi alleged that Lovepreet and Harpreet frequently brought different girls to the house, which Gurdev Singh strongly objected to. Following repeated disputes, he asked them to vacate the premises. She further alleged that after being asked to leave, the two brothers began harassing the family and repeatedly threatened her husband.
According to the complaint, the accused had on one occasion forcibly entered the house and threatened to set it on fire if the family did not vacate the property. The woman alleged that the continuous threats and harassment led her husband into severe mental distress, ultimately leading him to die by suicide.
Station house officer of Jamalpur police station, sub-inspector Parmodh Raj, said an FIR had been registered under Sections 108 (abetment to suicide) and 3(5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the accused. The SHO confirmed that a suicide note was recovered from the spot and said efforts were underway to arrest the two accused. “The allegations levelled in the complaint and the contents of the suicide note form part of the investigation,” he added.
