Body of Punjab Prof Balwinder Kaur Found, SAD Holds Protest at Hospital

Dramatic scenes unfolded at the Civil Hospital in Ropar as the body of Balwinder Kaur, a member of the Assistant Professors and Librarians Front, was recovered from the Sirhind canal near Ropar and brought to the hospital today. This incident triggered a series of high-profile visits and demands for action. Among those who arrived at the hospital was senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Majithia, who called for the immediate arrest of Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains in connection with Kaur’s death.

The backstory to this incident dates back to October 2021 when the recruitment process for 1,158 professors and librarians began. By December, appointment letters were issued to 607 of the candidates, but only 124 of them were able to assume their duties. The remaining 483 were prevented from joining their positions due to various petitions lodged against the recruitment process.

Majithia, along with other prominent SAD leaders, including Daljit Singh Cheema, Sarabjit Singh Jhinjar, and Arshdeep Singh Kler, visited the protest site of the teachers and Kaur’s family home in Nurpur Bedi. Majithia pledged to continue his protest at the hospital until the responsible minister was charged in connection with Kaur’s tragic death.

Further support for Kaur’s family and their demands came from BJP leader and Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, and his son, Ajay Vir Singh Lalpura, the district president of the BJP in Ropar. Ropar’s Senior Superintendent of Police, Vivek Sheel Soni, met with SAD leaders to explain that the police had already initiated action against the husband and father-in-law of the deceased based on her brother’s statement and were investigating the suicide note found at Kaur’s residence.

While blaming the state government’s haughtiness for Kaur’s death, the Punjab State BJP President Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday urged all Punjabis to come together as one to force this callous regime into submission.

“It’s astonishing that they have already named the deceased’s husband and father-in-law for abetment to suicide without any proof; ostensibly to save the State Education Minister whose name is mentioned in the suicide note, and this has mocked the struggle of teachers sitting on dharna,” Jakhar said. He added that this is a planned conspiracy to delay the appointment of government teachers at the behest of AAP’s bosses sitting in Delhi.