Police have registered a case against former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar in connection with the alleged suicide of a state warehousing official in Amritsar.
The deceased, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, died by suicide on Saturday. Based on a complaint filed by his wife, Upinder Kaur, an FIR was lodged at Ranjit Avenue Police Station the same night.
Along with Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar and personal assistant Dilbag Singh have also been named in the case. The charges include abetment of suicide, criminal intimidation, and common intention under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The development came hours after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asked Bhullar to resign to ensure a fair investigation. Bhullar subsequently stepped down from his cabinet position, where he held the transport and prisons portfolios.
In her complaint, Kaur alleged that sustained harassment, physical assault, mental torture and coercion by the trio led her husband to take his own life. She claimed that the accused had assaulted her husband and even struck him with a pistol.
Kaur further alleged that her husband had been under intense pressure for several months over the allotment of warehouse tenders. “The accused repeatedly forced Randhawa to favour them in the tender process,” she stated, adding that upon his refusal, he was subjected to continuous threats, intimidation and harassment. The accused allegedly threatened to harm him and his family.
A video that surfaced on social media allegedly shows Randhawa claiming he consumed Celphos due to fear and harassment by the minister. In the clip, he suggests he would not survive. Bhullar has denied all allegations, calling them baseless.
Opposition leaders have criticised the AAP government, alleging that Randhawa was pressured to award a warehouse tender to Bhullar’s father. Additional claims suggest that Randhawa was summoned on March 13, assaulted, and forced to admit to accepting a Rs 10 lakh bribe.
The state government has ordered an impartial probe into the incident.