CHANDIGARH: Police have registered a case against former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar in connection with the alleged suicide of a Punjab State Warehousing Corporation official, officials said on Sunday.Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, district manager of the corporation in Amritsar, allegedly died by suicide after consuming a poisonous substance.Bhullar’s father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and his personal assistant, Dilbag Singh, have also been named in the case.An FIR has been lodged under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.The case was registered at Ranjit Avenue Police Station in Amritsar on Saturday night based on a complaint filed by Randhawa’s wife, Upinder Kaur.On Saturday, Bhullar resigned from the state cabinet after chief minister Bhagwant Mann asked him to step down amid allegations of abetment of suicide.A video that surfaced on social media the same day purportedly shows Randhawa—who also held additional charge of Patti—claiming he had consumed Celphos and accusing the transport minister of harassment. “Kha layi ‘celphos’ tuhade yaar ne. Minister Laljit Bhullar de dar ton. Hun nahi main bachda,” (Your friend has eaten Celphos because of fear of minister Laljit Bhullar. I will not survive now),” Randhawa says.Bhullar, the MLA from Patti in Tarn Taran, dismissed the allegations against him as baseless.Earlier, chief minister Bhagwant Mann said he had directed the chief secretary to conduct an impartial probe and asked Bhullar to step down to ensure a fair investigation.Mann also asserted that no negligence would be tolerated and said Bhullar’s transport and prison portfolios would be reassigned to another minister.Following the emergence of the video, opposition leaders targeted the AAP government and demanded strict action against Bhullar.They alleged that Bhullar had pressured Randhawa to award a warehouse tender to his father.He was also accused of recording a video of Randhawa and forcing him to admit to accepting a Rs 10 lakh bribe from another party.Another allegation claimed that on March 13, Randhawa was called to Bhullar’s residence, where he was allegedly assaulted and humiliated.(With agency inputs)
