Shortly after Punjab transport and jails minister Laljit Singh Bhullar resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government following his alleged link to a suicide case, a case was registered against him and his father under the charges of 'abetment of suicide'. The FIR has been registered under Sections 109, 351(3) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. (ANI)
Bhullar stepped down from his post on Saturday after his name surfaced in the controversy related to the alleged suicide of a district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar. The district manager, who allegedly consumed a poisonous substance, claimed he had taken the extreme step out of fear of Bhullar.
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A first information report (FIR) was registered against Bhullar, his father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and another aide in the case, said Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Commissioner of Police, Amritsar. Charges under Sections 109, 351(3) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita have been imposed.
The case has been registered at the Ranjit Avenue police station under the Amritsar Police Commissionerate. Another official stated that the decision regarding the FIR against Bhullar was taken at midnight.
Bhullar's resignation as the transport and jails minister makes him the third minister directly linked to criminal or ethical misconduct to be shown the door in the Bhagwant Mann-led government.
What led to Bhullar's resignation, FIR The resignation and an FIR against the Punjab minister comes amid allegations of abetment of suicide of a state warehousing corporation official.
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Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, the district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly took his own life after consuming a poisonous substance at around 7 am on Saturday.
A video surfaced on social media on Saturday in which Randhawa was purportedly heard saying that he had consumed some poisonous substance and accused the transport minister of harassment.
However, the Punjab Police took around 17 hours to register FIR following the AAP government faced backlash across the state and top state leaders of Congress, SAD and BJP united to up ante against the government. The FIR was registered at 11.51 pm.
Charanjit Singh Channi, former CM and Congress MP, has demanded a CBI investigation into the suicide. Shiromani Akali Dal General Secretary Bikram Singh Majithia also asked for a fair, independent probe, including a CBI investigation, and provide justice to the victim.