A 22-year-old woman, who is five months pregnant, was reportedly assaulted overnight and subsequently discarded into a canal by her father and brother. Believing she had perished, her attackers left her in the water, but she managed to swim to the shore, extricate herself, and call for assistance.
Amanpreet Kaur is currently receiving medical care at a hospital, while law enforcement has filed charges against six family members, including her father and brother, on counts including attempted murder.
According to police reports, Amanpreet married Satnam Singh nearly three years ago against her family’s wishes. She belongs to the Jat Sikh community, while her husband is from the Dalit community. Both are residents of the village of Karaiwala near Gidderbaha. After their marriage, fearing for their safety, the couple sought protection from the Punjab and Haryana High Court and had been living away from the village. They returned recently but faced ongoing threats from Amanpreet’s family, as stated by the police.
Amanpreet recounted to authorities that the incident began on the night of September 6, when her father, brother, and cousins allegedly attacked her husband and his family with sharp weapons. Following this, she claimed that her relatives abducted and assaulted her throughout the night. In her report, she stated that her family demanded a written retraction against her husband, which she refused to provide.
On the morning of September 7, her father and brother allegedly threw her into the Rajasthan Feeder Canal located in Sri Muktsar Sahib district. Amanpreet told police that she submerged herself to create the illusion of drowning but later managed to swim to the bank and climb out. Bystanders alerted the police, and she was subsequently transported to a hospital in Lambi for initial treatment.
In a conversation with The Indian Express, her husband, Satnam, expressed frustration over ongoing threats despite a high court order. He stated, “The village Sarpanch is also backing them. I sustained injuries during the attack; I was struck on the head and lost consciousness. The police have not taken statements from my injured family members, nor has an FIR been filed regarding that incident. I am unaware of the details in the FIR that was lodged based on my wife’s account.”
Senior Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Rana from Sri Muktsar Sahib confirmed that there was no delay in filing the FIR. “We have charged six individuals, including the victim’s father, brother, and cousins. A case of attempted murder and abduction has been filed, alongside other related offenses,” the SSP stated.
This incident marks the third occurrence in just over two months involving family members attacking a woman or her spouse for marrying against familial wishes. On August 30, Jagjit Singh, 22, from Kadgill village, was fatally stabbed outside a bus station by his wife’s brothers, Jaspreet Singh and Harpreet Singh, shortly after the couple eloped. One brother was apprehended at the scene, while the other escaped.
Earlier, on July 21, Mehakpreet Kaur, 20, was killed by her father, Wakil Singh, and several relatives soon after her marriage to Jagdeep Singh in the same village of Faridkot district. The couple had also sought protection from the high court, leading to the arrest of five individuals, including the father.
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