Chandigarh, Mar 23 (PTI): Former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar was arrested on Monday, two days after an official of the state warehousing corporation committed suicide after accusing the AAP MLA of harassing him.
Bhullar was arrested from Mandi Gobindgarh in Fatehgarh Sahib district, a police official told reporters in Amritsar.
Bhullar was being brought from Mandi Gobindgarh to Amritsar. He will be produced in a court in Amritsar on Tuesday, the official said.
The AAP MLA, however, claimed that he surrendered in Mandi Gobindgarh.
Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, the district manager of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly ended his life by consuming poison early Saturday. Later in the day, a video appeared in which he purportedly claimed harassment by Bhullar appeared on social media.
Bhullar resigned as minister on the direction of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his resignation was accepted on Saturday.
By the night, Amritsar police booked Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar and personal assistant Dilbag Singh under sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Following Bhullar’s arrest, Randhawa’s family demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the circumstances that led to his death.
Randhawa’s family moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking directions to the Punjab government to ensure that the post-mortem is preferably conducted at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.
CM Mann asserted that strict action will be taken against anyone who violates the law irrespective of the position they hold.
“For me, entire Punjab is one family. If anyone in Punjab violates the law, strict action will be taken against him, no matter what position he holds or whether he is a relative or an influential person. Shielding anyone is not our party’s agenda,” Mann said in a post on X.
In a Facebook post before his arrest, Bhullar said he was surrendering in Mandi Gobindgarh and that rumours were being spread that he had fled but there was no truth to them.
“I will never run from the truth. I have full faith in the law of the country and I also have unshakable faith in the justice system. I have not run away anywhere, I am in my Punjab.
“Believing in truth and justice, I am surrendering myself at Mandi Gobindgarh,” he said.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said his party’s government in Punjab took immediate action after a minister faced accusations.
“Recently, a minister in the AAP government in Punjab faced serious allegations. Without any delay or discrimination, our government took immediate action against the minister, not only removing him from office but also having him arrested.
“Some time ago, an ADGP in Haryana committed suicide. Serious allegations were levelled against several people, yet their entire party and government came out in support of the culprits,” said Kejriwal, in a dig at the BJP dispensation.
He was apparently referring to the suicide of senior Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar last October.
“This is the difference between AAP and the BJP. When it comes to justice, AAP does not hesitate to take action even against its own government ministers, while the BJP sacrifices justice itself to protect its own people,” Kejriwal said.
Randhawa’s suicide triggered a political row with opposition parties taking on the Mann government and jointly holding a protest.
In Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised to immediately order a CBI inquiry into Randhawa’s suicide if all Punjab MPs give him a written request on the matter.
The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Congress MP from Amritsar.
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar said the Mann government was forced to proceed with the arrest of Bhullar because Shah indicated that the case might be handed over to the CBI for investigation.
Earlier, four Congress MPs — Aujla, Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjnder Singh Randhawa and Dharmavira Gandhi — wrote to Shah, demanding a CBI probe into the suicide.
Separately, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal also wrote to Shah for a CBI inquiry.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa wrote to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant urging the top court to take suo motu cognisance of Randhawa’s suicide and order a court-monitored probe to ensure truth, accountability and protection for his family.
Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia slammed the AAP government for taking two days to arrest Bhullar.
He alleged that the Mann government did its best to shield Bhullar, but had to give in following the brave face put up by the official’s family.
The BJP on Monday held districtwise protests against the AAP government over the issue of Randhawa’s suicide.
Earlier in the day, Randhawa’s family issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Punjab government to arrest him.
“It is my ultimatum that if nothing is done within 24 hours, then I, along with my children (two daughters and a son), will come on the roads,” said Randhawa’s wife Upinder Kaur, who is a science teacher.
A purported CCTV footage surfaced on social media on Monday, showing Randhawa consuming a poisonous substance.
In the police complaint, Randhawa’s wife claimed that her husband was constantly pressured to allot a warehouse tender to Bhullar’s father and that the former minister had even threatened to harm her husband and his family if he did not comply. PTI CHS VSD DIV DIV
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)
