"How did they touch your chest? Did they first open the jeans or the shirt? How many times did they rape you? Who touched you first?"

These are some of the questions that the 18-year-old gangrape victim who committed suicide in Badshahpur village of Patiala district on Wednesday was reportedly asked at the local police checkpost, says her mother Surjit Kaur.

Paramjit Kaur's father works as a guard in godowns. The youngest of four siblings, she was allegedly taken away on Diwali night (November 13) by accused Gurpreet Singh, Balwinder Singh and Sandeep Singh, of nearby Kheri Nagayan village. A woman neighbour allegedly helped the accused.

"We were looking for her that night near the bridge," says Surjit. "She seemed inebriated on reaching home around 9.30 pm. Next day, she told us about the incident. They had forced her to drink liquor and then raped her."

Though they went to the police post, Surjit adds, "no case was registered till November 27". She was left near the village gurdwara and three men saw her being thrown, the mother says, but all have refused to stand witness. "They told us she walked back taking support of walls of houses."

Paramjit's elder sister Charanjit, who teaches in a school, said they shifted her to her aunt's house in Samana on November 29, but the "harassment" by the alleged rapists continued. Finally, 44 days after the rape, the sister says, "She consumed some poisonous substance on Wednesday and died late in the night." The next day, the three accused were arrested.

In her suicide note, Paramjit said the three "rapists" had ruined her life.

On Friday, Deputy CM and Home Minister Sukhbir Badal and DGP Sumedh Saini constituted a three-member panel to investigate the case. A SHO and an ASI have been dismissed and a DSP suspended so far. The Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu cognisance of the incident on Friday.

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