category Regional,Rupnagar, chandigarh, , tags Regional,Rupnagar, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU Chandigarh Rupnagar Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday sought Governor Banwarilal Purohit s intervention in the case of suicide by a Rupnagar-based job aspirant, who blamed the state s education minister in a purported note for taking the extreme step. Jakhar accompanied the family members of deceased Balwinder Kaur as they met with Purohit here. Kaur (35), a teaching job aspirant, allegedly killed herself by jumping into a canal in Rupnagar on October 21. In a purported suicide note that she left behind and circulated on social media, Kaur named Education Minister Harjot Bains and held him responsible. Kaur wrote that she had been awarded an appointment letter in December 2021 for an assistant professor position she had applied for but the entire selection process was quashed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August 2022. Her family members have been protesting in Rupnagar to press for the registration of a case of abetment to suicide against Bains. They have also refused to cremate the body till action was taken against the minister. Speaking to reporters in Chandigarh, Jakhar slammed the AAP government over Kaur s suicide. This incident is a blot on the face of the state government, he said, alleging that Kaur was forced to take her own life. The BJP leader demanded time-bound action in the circumstances leading up to the suicide and urged the governor to personally intervene to ensure timely justice for the aggrieved family. Balwinder Kaur was among the candidates who had applied for 1,158 posts of assistant professors and librarians in state colleges in 2021 during the previous Congress regime. Some aspirants were given appointment letters to the posts but the selection criteria were challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which quashed the entire recruitment process. Kaur was part of the 1,158 Assistant Professors and Librarians Front, which has been demanding jobs. After Kaur s death, police initially booked her husband and father-in-law on charges of abetment to suicide based on a complaint by her brother Hardev Singh. The basis of the complaint was a voice message found in Kaur s phone which indicated that she was unhappy with her husband. But on Tuesday, Hardev Singh recorded a fresh statement with police in which he demanded action against the minister. Rupnagar Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek Sheel Soni said police were investigating the matter. The purported suicide note and Kaur s mobile phones are being sent for forensic examination and police will take appropriate action after receiving the forensic report, he said. Jaswinder Kaur, another member of the front, said they have been holding a protest near the residence of the minister in Rupnagar for 58 days, seeking jobs. Opposition parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP, have demanded action against the AAP leader. SAD leader Arshdeep Singh Kler asked Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav why no action was being taken against the minister despite Balwinder Kaur naming Bains in her purported suicide note. (editor dailyworld.in)