CHANDIGARH: After twelve years, Sikh religious preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale has been booked by the Punjab Police in a case of alleged rape and murder of a woman in Patiala in 2012, the Punjab and Haryana High Court was informed.An affidavit filed by Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday stated that a FIR was filed on a complaint lodged by the victim’s brother, a Patiala resident under section 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Passiana Police station in Patiala on December 7, 2024 and the case is under investigation.The DGP filed the affidavit in the high court after the victim’s brother alleged that his sister was raped and murdered and no action was taken by state police at the time of the incident.The woman was found in an unconscious condition outside the gate of Gurdwara Parmeshwar Dwar on April 22, 2012, and later she died at a hospital before she could make any statement, as per the affidavit.The affidavit further stated that the sister of the deceased filed four complaints from June 19, 2012, to November 9, 2012, for taking action against Dhadrianwale. An inquiry into the matter was conducted by the then Station House Officer, Passiana Police station and a recommendation was made for filling the said complaints.According to the office procedure, the records for the years January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2014 had been destroyed in October 2020,stated the affidavit. It said on December 21, 2023, the woman’s brother had alleged that he was threatened by some persons not to raise his voice against Dhadrianwale.The affidavit stated that show-cause notices have been issued to then deputy superintendent of police Sewa Singh Malhi (who is now retired) and then SHO Ashok Kumar (now SP) on December 7.The petition of the woman’s brother was taken up in November and during the previous hearing, the Bench presided over by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu had asked the DGP to explain as to what action has been taken against officials who handled the case in 2012.
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