Tension prevailed at Babanpur Dhani village of the Ratia area in Haryana’s Fatehabad district on Thursday after a dispute erupted between a woman’s parental and in-laws’ families following her death, leading to a blockade on the Fatehabad-Budhlada (Haryana-Punjab) state highway.
According to police officials, Gurdeep Kaur (43) had allegedly consumed a poisonous substance under suspicious circumstances on Monday evening. She was admitted to a private hospital in Ratia and later referred to a hospital in Hisar, where she died early Wednesday morning.
The deceased was a resident of Bareh village in Punjab’s Mansa district. Her brother Avtar Singh alleged that Gurdeep Kaur had been mentally disturbed for a long time due to family disputes and harassment by some members of her in-laws’ family.
The police said tempers ran high on Wednesday during the post-mortem examination at the Civil Hospital, Ratia, where members of both families entered into an argument. Additional police force and a duty magistrate were deployed to control the situation. However, an agreement could not be reached and the body was kept in the mortuary overnight.
Fresh trouble broke out on Thursday when the body was being taken for the last rites in an ambulance. Members of both sides allegedly surrounded the ambulance and blocked the highway, disrupting traffic movement.
On receiving information, City SHO Pushpa and ASP Divyanshi Singla reached the spot and tried to pacify the protesters.
After considerable effort, the police managed to clear the route and shift the body to the cremation ground. The authorities temporarily shut the cremation ground gate, but some people allegedly climbed over the wall and attempted to stop the cremation.
The atmosphere remained tense for several hours before the last rites were finally conducted in the presence of police personnel.
