GURDASPUR: A disturbing incident has emerged from Kothe village in Gurdaspur district, where a woman was caught on camera brutally assaulting her elderly mother-in-law. In a video lasting nearly one minute, which has gone viral on social media, the daughter-in-law is seen pulling the victim’s hair, slapping her repeatedly, and striking her with steel glasses. The assault reportedly took place in the presence of the victim’s grandson, who recorded the entire episode on his phone. Though he can be heard asking his mother to stop, (Mumma, please stop), he made no attempt to intervene or protect his grandmother.
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The footage shows the elderly woman gasping for breath as the daughter-in-law violently shakes her and pushes her by the neck. Police sources identified the daughter-in-law as Harjeet Kaur and the mother-in-law as Gurbhajan Kaur. The incident is said to have been triggered by a property dispute. Despite the mother-in-law’s visible distress, the daughter-in-law continued the assault, using abusive language and slurs. At one point, she attempted to strike the woman with her own slippers. Taking suo motu notice of the video, Raj Gill, Chairperson of the Punjab State Commission for Women, on 1 October directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Gurdaspur, to initiate an investigation through a senior officer and submit a detailed report within a day. In a post on X, Raj Gill said: “An old, helpless mother was beaten by her daughter-in-law in Gurdaspur. Suo motu action has been issued immediately and strict action will be taken. The safety, rights, and protection of elders is the Commission’s priority.” While the police have launched a preliminary investigation and confirmed that the video will be treated as key evidence, a senior officer of Gurdaspur police—who declined to be named, citing that it is a “Commission matter”—said that police visited the women’s house, but the mother-in-law refused to give a statement, saying it was a family matter and that the dispute had been resolved internally. Family members also refrained from engaging with the media.
