Social activist in Bihar's Muzaffarpur Tamanna Hashmi filed a complaint case against Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, seeking registration of a case against her for fleeing the scene of a train accident in Amritsar in which nearly 60 people died on Friday, and making a false alibi that she was not present at the site when the accident occurred. Four persons from Bihar were killed in the incident.
According to the complaint, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who was the chief guest at a Dussehra function in Amritsar, and the organisers were solely responsible for the incident and the court should therefore take cognizance of the matter and order a trial against her.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Arti Kumari Singh has fixed November 3 as the date for its hearing.
Hashmi also said the footage of the incident shown on television had hurt him deeply. He requested for initiating a case against Navjot Kaur Sidhu under Indian Penal Code sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) among others.
If held guilty, the accused could be sent to jail for three months to two years.
Congress MP Sunil Jakhar and Punjab minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, however, came forward in defence of Sidhu and sought to put the blame on the Railways officials for the incident.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who has gone to Israel, reviewed the situation through video-conference with the state government officials and asked them to expedite the process of providing relief and compensation to the families of those dead and to the injured. People angry over the train accident had pelted stones and clashed with security personnel on Sunday. They sat on the railway tracks, where the accident happened, and protested. They were later removed by authorities.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices to the Railways and the Punjab government, observing that it cannot be called a "sane act" for people to sit on railway tracks, but the "negligence on the part of the district authorities is apparent" as well in this "bizarre and horrific incident".
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