Moga – Four days after 13-year-old Arshdeep Kaur died after being allegedly molested and pushed from a bus of Orbit Aviation Pvt Ltd, co-owned by Deputy Punjab CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, her body was sent for autopsy and later consigned to flames at her village Landeke Sunday evening.
The four-day deadlock between the girl’s family and the government ended on a day when Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met the aggrieved family members in Moga and promised them justice.
The mother of the girl, who is undergoing treatment at the Moga civil hospital, also attended the cremation under the supervision of medical experts.
Earlier, the family agreed to the postmortem on the victim’s body after her father Sukhdev met Deputy Commissioner P S Gill, ADGP Crime Iqbal Singh Sahota, IG NRI Affairs Gurpeet Deo, DIG Amar Chahal, IG PS Umranangal and SSP Moga J S Khaira at the Civil Hospital.
Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, Sukhdev said: “I am satisfied with the police action till now and I want to cremate my daughter. No one has pressured me or forced me to sign on autopsy papers. I have done it with my own will. Please leave me and my family alone and let me take my daughter for her last rites.”
A section of the victim’s relatives present at the hospital accused the family of entering into a compromise with the government for money.
AAP leaders, on the other hand, alleged that the government had pressured the family into agreeing to the autopsy and protested on the hospital premises and later at the cremation ground.
Later in the evening, Moga deputy commissioner P S Gill confirmed that Orbit Aviation will be paying a compensation of Rs 24 lakh to the victim’s family. While Arshpreet’s injured mother Shinder Kaur and her father Sukhdev will get Rs 10 lakh each, Rs 4 lakh will be given for her brother’s education.
“We got an official communication from Orbit that they will be paying a compensation of Rs 24 lakh. We handed over the cheque to the family today but they asked us to transfer the amount to their accounts. Since all family members do not have bank accounts, these will be opened on Monday and the money will be transferred.”
Meanwhile, a section of Landeke residents termed the victim’s cremation “forced last rites to suppress the matter”.
“No prayers were said for her soul’s peace, as if the girl had no importance. She was cremated as if it was just a task that should be finished. It was a brutal murder,” said villager Gurtej.
Girl’s grandmother Surjit Kaur said the government must ensure that women passengers get adequate security so that such incidents do not occur in future.