A woman has been booked by the Chandigarh Police after videos in which she was allegedly seen thrashing her five-year-old stepdaughter went viral. The police claimed the videos were around seven months old, which surfaced recently.
The woman, Jaspreet Kaur, had married Manmohan Singh, a resident of Sector 29, in 2016. It was the second marriage for both of them.
A video recently surfaced in which the woman was seen slapping her stepdaughter and another video showing her stuffing the victim in a gunny bag.
The videos were reportedly made by the accused woman’s stepson on various occasions. He showed the videos to his father, who then approached the Child Welfare Committee, Sector 19.
Manmohan Singh, the girl’s father, said, “My son made the video clip and handed it to me. I was stunned to see the cruelty of my second wife towards my daughter from my first wife. My first wife passed away two-and-a-half years back and I married Kaur in 2016. I have filed a police complaint, seeking action against Kaur.”
While Singh has two children from his first wife, Kaur, a divorcee prior to marrying Singh, has a daughter from her first marriage.
The police were informed about the incident after which an investigation was initiated.
Inspector Devinder Singh, Station House Officer of Industrial Area police station, said, “We have registered an FIR under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act and Section 323 (assault) of IPC against Jaspreet Kaur, who is yet to be arrested. We have recommended that the girl should stay at Snehalaya but the latter preferred to stay with her father.”
Sources said Kaur had also attempted suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan at home two months back but she was rescued in the nick of time. The FIR against Kaur was registered after taking legal opinion. The injured stepdaughter also narrated her ordeal to a Child Helpline counsellor.
At present, Singh and Kaur are staying apart. Kaur is living with her mother in Sector 27. Police said she was not present at home when raids were on to arrest her. A case has been registered at Industrial Area PS.