Former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur acquitted in her daughter's murder case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday acquitted former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Bibi Jagir Kaur in the murder case of her daughter Harpreet Kaur.

In 2000, Bibi Jagir Kaur's daughter Harpreet died under mysterious circumstances. Later, an investigation was conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the direction of the High Court, which allegedly found Bibi's involvement in the murder of her daughter.

Earlier, Bibi Jagir Kaur had been awarded five years imprisonment by the Patiala House Court in the national capital on March 30, 2012. The court had held her guilty of forceful abortion and illegal confinement of her daughter.

After the pronouncement of the judgment, Bibi Kaur appealed against the order given by the trial court in the High Court in 2012. Others convicted in the case in 2012 were Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi, Paramjit Singh Raipur, all aides of Jagir Kaur, and Nishan Singh.

After her conviction, Bibi Jagir Kaur had to step down as the Cabinet Minister in the SAD-BJP government led by then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. She could not even contest the subsequent Assembly polls held in 2017.

According to media reports, 19-year-old Harpreet was in a relationship with Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Kapurthala district. Bibi was then SGPC chief and had opposed their marriage. On April 20, 2000, Harpreet was found dead. The matter came to light after Kamaljit filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had ordered for the probe. Singh had also alleged that Bibi had allegedly conspired the murder of her daughter.