Woman Shot Dead Inside Patiala Gurudwara
A woman was caught drinking inside a Gurudwara in Patiala. Whilst waiting for the police to come, another devotee shot her dead. Read more here!
A woman was shot dead in a gurdwara in Patiala by a man in a fit of rage, minutes after she was caught drinking liquor on the premises. Another devotee was injured in the firing. The incident took place on the premises of Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib on the 14th of May 2023 at around 8 - 8.30 pm. The woman, Parwinder Kaur, about 40 years old, a divorcee, worked at a salon in Zirakpur, Punjab and lived alone. She was undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction. Senior Superintendent of Police Varun Sharma gave details of the killing.
He said, “Although the police initially identified her as Parwinder Kaur, as reflected in her Aadhaar card, her brother told the police that her real name was Kulwinder Kaur. Kaur, who carried a liquor bottle inside the gurdwara complex, was consuming liquor sitting near the sarovar (holy pond) when some devotees objected to it and informed the on-duty woman guard. When she tried to stop her [from drinking], the woman tried to hit the guard with the bottle.
In the meantime, other devotees gathered there. The woman guard and another gurdwara worker were injured when she attacked them with the bottle. She was taken to the manager’s room and, in the meantime, police were informed. They took her to the gurdwara manager. As Kaur emerged from the gurdwara manager's room accompanied by police personnel, the accused, Nirmaljit Singh Saini, a Patiala-based real-estate dealer, opened fire from his licensed revolver. Saini fired at least five bullets. The woman received three bullets and died on the spot. Another bullet hit Sagar, a devotee who is undergoing treatment at a hospital.
The police officer said a prescription slip from a de-addiction center was recovered from her belongings in which the doctors had mentioned that she had mood swings and depression. The police said Saini was arrested and an FIR was registered at Anaj Mandi police station for murder. The accused has no previous criminal record and had no previous link with the woman. Saini was also a divorcee booked in a dowry harassment case in which he was bailed out. He used to visit the gurdwara twice a day. He opened fire in a fit of rage on knowing that the woman was consuming alcohol at the shrine.
When asked how someone could carry a firearm inside the gurdwara premises, the SSP said, “A round-the-clock checkpoint with four cops and paramilitary force is always stationed outside the gurdwara but the security arrangements inside are taken care of by the gurdwara the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee), which manages the gurdwara. I will not mince words. The police do not frisk devotees who visit the gurdwara. SGPC can answer how the accused carried a weapon inside.” Giani Parnam Singh, head granthi of the gurdwara said, “We do not frisk devotees who come to pay obeisance. It is their own morality that they should not carry liquor or weapons inside the gurdwara.”
SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami demanded a “high-level inquiry into the incident”. He said “anti-Sikh forces were targeting gurdwaras with a deliberate conspiracy and the government was a silent spectator”. The act of drinking inside the gurdwara was a conspiracy.” Later in the evening, the SGPC honored Saini’s parents with a “siropa” – a robe of honour – at their residence.
Meanwhile, members of various Sikh bodies reached the court complex where Saini was produced by police and greeted him by showering flower petals when he was later escorted out by police after being remanded to judicial custody. Kaur was cremated after her brother and mother claimed the body. Her brother said that she got married at an early age. She later got divorced and has been living separately since 2016. She also had a daughter from her marriage, who is already married. With this incident, it is seen that SGPC is in support of Saini. But what do you think about it? Let us know in the comments.
