Ludhiana: Ex-YAD leader tries to strangle wife, held

The police arrested prominent industrialist and former Youth Akali Dal (YAD) leader Rishi Banda for allegedly assaulting and trying to strangle his wife, officials said.

Banda is no stranger to controversy. He was arrested in December 2012 for allegedly assaulting a senior police officer.

Police said the fresh incident took place at the couple’ s home in Tagore Nagar, where Banda thrashed the victim, Geetanjali, 45, over a minor delay in handing over money to him.

Banda was produced before a local court on Wednesday and was sent to police custody for two days.

In her complaint, Geetanjali said she was watching television at home on March 3 when her husband asked her to bring money from an almirah.

The complainant alleged that as she took a little longer than her husband expected, he lost his temper and slapped her multiple times, beat her with a slipper, tried to strangle her before and smashed her head against the almirah. She said that if the domestic help had not intervened, she might not have survived the incident.

The woman alleged that on March 4, she requested her husband to return her phone, which he had snatched from her, so she could attend a call from their daughter.

However, Banda thrashed her again with a slipper, causing multiple injuries, including one on her eye, the complainant added. On March 7, she left for her parental home and lodged a police complaint.

Division number 8 station-hosue officer (SHO) inspector Davinder Sharma said the case was registered under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

In 2012. Banda arrested along with Maninder Pal Singh Johar, alias Sunny Goodwill (now deceased), for allegedly assaulting assistant inspector general (AIG) SS Mand and non-resident Indian (NRI) Paramjit Singh Passi at a restaurant in Ghumar Mandi.

Following the incident, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had claimed that Banda and Goodwill had been expelled from the party before the attack.

While Banda claimed he was acquitted from the 2012 case as the parties involved reached an out-of-court settlement, police said they are verifying their records to ascertain the status of the case.