After police arrested Punjab Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar from Mandi Gobindgarh in Fatehgarh Sahib district on Monday afternoon in connection with an abetment to suicide case involving a warehouse company officer, the opposition, including the BJP, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal, is pressuring the home ministry for a CBI probe into the matter.
On March 21, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, district director of Punjab Warehousing Corporation, committed suicide, accusing the minister of pressuring him with threats.
Randhawa’s wife, Upinder Kaur, registered an FIR on March 22 against Bhullar, accusing him of threatening her husband with violent consequences if he refused to cancel a tender and reissue it in the name of the minister’s father.
The government official’s suicide has rocked the AAP-led government, with the opposition accusing Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of failing to take quick action against Bhullar due to his proximity to him.
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On Monday, March 23, soon after Bhullar’s arrest, several MPs from Punjab — including Congress leaders Charanjit Singh Channi, Gurjit Singh Aujla, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and Dharamveer Gandhi — wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting the CBI to conduct an investigation into the matter. Shiromani Akali Dal leader and MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal also made a similar demand.
Read also: Former AAP minister Laljit Bhullar arrested from Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab official suicide case
The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Aujla, the Congress MP from Amritsar. Bhullar allegedly put pressure on the official, which led to his suicide. Shah, who was present in the house at that time, was about to leave when the wheel asked him to listen to him. Shah responded that if all Punjab MPs submitted a written request, he would immediately order a CBI investigation into the issue.
Meanwhile, in Punjab, BJP state president Sunil Jakhar told the media that Bhullar was arrested only after Shah indicated the case could be handed over to the RBI and due to pressure from the BJP.
He also claimed that the CBI investigation would reveal the secrets of the Aam Aadmi Party and the alleged money trail linked to Bhullar.
BJP leader and Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu also demanded a CBI probe. He said that after Bhullar threatened Randhawa while pointing a gun at him, the officer called senior officials – perhaps even the Prime Minister – but no one responded.
“Imagine the Punjab jungle – no one in the capital heard him, no secretary heard him. I’m sure the secretary wrote to the prime minister, but when he got no reply, he thought it best to commit suicide before anyone could harm his wife or daughter,” Bittu said.
