Chandigarh: The Punjab Police has registered a case against former state minister Laljit Singh Bhullar in connection with the suicide of an official from the State Warehousing Corporation. Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, the District Manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly committed suicide on Saturday.
The police have also registered cases against Bhullar’s father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and his personal assistant, Dilbag Singh. The FIR has been lodged under Sections 108 (abetment to suicide), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The case was registered on Saturday night at the Ranjit Avenue Police Station in Amritsar, based on a complaint filed by Randhawa’s wife, Upinder Kaur. Bhullar resigned from the state cabinet on Saturday after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asked him to step down amidst allegations of abetment to suicide.
A video surfaced on social media on Saturday, in which Randhawa—who also held the additional charge of Patti—was allegedly heard stating that he was taking this extreme step. He accused the Transport Minister of harassment. “Your friend has consumed ‘Celphos’—out of fear of Minister Laljit Bhullar. I will not survive now,” Randhawa is heard saying. Bhullar, the MLA from Patti in Tarn Taran, termed the allegations leveled against him as baseless.
Earlier, Chief Minister Mann had stated that he had directed the Chief Secretary to conduct an impartial inquiry into the matter and had asked the minister to step down to ensure a fair investigation. Mann asserted that no negligence of any kind would be tolerated in this case. He also added that Bhullar’s portfolios—the Transport and Jails departments—would be handed over to another minister.
As soon as the video surfaced online, leaders of opposition parties criticized the AAP government and demanded action against Bhullar. He accused Bhullar of pressuring Randhawa to help secure a warehouse tender for his father.
Bhullar was also accused of recording a video of Randhawa and coercing him into confessing to accepting a bribe of ₹10 lakh from another party. One allegation stated that on March 13, Randhawa was summoned to Bhullar’s residence, where he was physically assaulted and humiliated.
