Punjab official’s suicide: Ex-minister Laljit Singh Bhullar booked, Opposition seeks arrest

AMritsar: Former Punjab government minister Laljit Singh Bhullar and his padre were among deuce-ace engaged on charges of abettal of suicide following the death of a state warehousing corporation official in Amritsar, police said on Sunday.The development comes a day after Bhullar resigned from his post as transport and jails minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. He stepped down after chief minister Bhagwant Mann sought his resignation, with Bhullar saying he took the decision facilitate a fair inquiry into the case.On Friday, a district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) allegedly died by suicide after consuming a poisonous substance at his residence in Amritsar. Prior to his death, a video of the official surfaced on social media, in which he claimed he had taken the step out of fear of Bhullar.Based on a complaint filed by the deceased’s wife, a case was lodged on Saturday at the Ranjit Avenue police station against the former minister, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and his personal assistant PA Dilbag Singh. The three accused have been booked under sections 109 (abetment of suicide), 351(3) (criminal intimidation by treating to cause death or grievous hurt) and 3(5) (common intention) of BNS, said Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Amritsar commissioner of police.Also Read | Punjab minister resigns after link to suicide case; rejects ‘false, baseless’ allegationsIn her complaint, the deceased’s wife said that the Bhullar had applied for tenders floated by the PSWC for the construction of new godowns under his father’s name. “He was consistently pressurising my husband to favour his father in the tendering process. My husband told me in this regard many times,” the wife said in the complaint, which HT has seen. “Bhullar, his father and PA Dilbag Singh alias Bagha were issuing threats to my husband that if the tenders are not allotted to them, my children will have to pay the price.”After the tenders were not allotted to Bhullar’s father, the complaint said, the former minister began “harassing and humiliating” the official. “My husband said that Bhullar said that either he will get him killed or he should kill himself by consuming poison,” she said.On March 13, the wife said, the AAP leader summoned the official to his residence. “As my husband entered the house, they started beating him,” the complainant said. “At gunpoint, they forced him to read a script they provided, recording a false statement that he allotted the tenders to another party for ₹10 lakh.”On Sunday, the Opposition attempted to ‘gherao’ the residence of Mann in Chandigarh during a a joint protest. A day earlier, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Congress and the BJP had announced that they will jointly ‘gherao’ CM Mann’s residence to press their demand for the arrest of Bhullar.Also Read | Threatened, held at gunpoint: Shocking claims emerge against Punjab minister in PWC officer suicide caseLeader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, along with SAD leaders Bikram Singh Majithia and Daljit Singh Cheema, were among those who took part in the protest.A large police contingent was deployed at the MLAs’ Hostel in Chandigarh to prevent the protesters from heading towards the chief minister’s residence. Barricades were also erected by the Chandigarh police.As the protesters tried to scale the barricades, police used water cannons to disperse them. “We want Bhullar’s immediate arrest and a free and fair probe,” SAD’s Majithia said.“We are united in this fight for justice and accountability. The Congress will continue this struggle with unwavering resolve until justice is delivered to the family,” Bajwa said.The CM, meanwhile, asserted that his government has zero tolerance for corruption, further noting that the law is taking its course.