Jagir Kaur resigns on moral ground

Kaur, 57, sent her resignation letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who forwarded it to Punjab Governor for its acceptance with immediate effect.

A spokesperson of the Chief Minister`s office said Bibi Jagir Kaur resigned as cabinet Minister on moral grounds following her conviction by a special CBI Court.

Kaur, who held portfolios of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation and Defence Services Welfare, was convicted and sentenced to five years` imprisonment by a CBI court in Patiala for conspiring in forcible abortion and abduction in connection with the mysterious death of her teenaged daughter Harpreet Kaur 12 years ago.

The senior Punjab Minister, who was the lone woman member in the 18-member Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP ministry sworn in earlier this month, was acquitted of murder charge against her.

She has been lodged in a jail in Kapurthala district.