Aam Adami Party (AAP) MLA Dr Balbir Singh aged 65, his wife Rupinderjit Saini, son Rahul Saini and one Parminder Singh were convicted in Ropar on Monday in an 11-year-old family dispute case. The court of additional chief judicial magistrate, Ravi Inder Singh convicted the family and granted 3-years of rigorous imprisonment. All the convicts, however, were granted bail on the spot.
The case dates back to 2011 when Patiala Rural MLA Dr Balbir Singh was accused of attacking the complainant Paramjit Kaur, sister of his wife, Rupinderjit Saini. Paramjit Kaur had claimed that she and her husband were attacked at Tapparian Dyal Singh village of Chamkaur Sahib of Ropar district in connection with a land dispute.
The complainant noted that her father, Anoop Singh, had distributed their ancestral land equally among his three daughters. However, Dr Balbir Singh and his wife had ‘illegally encroached’ on her share of land and she moved to Punjab and Haryana High Court to settle the dispute. The court ruled in her favour and she was handed back the possession of her land. Paramjit Kaur further alleged that she and her husband were later attacked by Balbir Singh, his wife, son and another villager Parminder Singh.
An FIR was registered against Dr Balbir Singh, his wife Rupinderjit Saini and son Rahul Saini under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 506 (criminal intimidation), 148 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of IPC at Chamkaur Sahib police station on June 13, 2011.
“The High Court had fixed the days for both parties to irrigate their respective land but on June 13, 2011, when Paramjit Kaur and her husband, Mewa Singh, were irrigating their land, the opposite party — including Balbir Singh, his wife, son and another villager Parminder Singh — attacked them. The court on Monday has convicted all four of them to three years of rigorous imprisonment. They got bail on the spot,” the complainant’s counsel stated.
“Balbir Singh also got a cross-FIR registered against Mewa Singh and his wife Paramjit Kaur alleging attack but they were acquitted in the case,” the counsel added.
