‘Consumed poison out of fear’: District manager’s suicide rocks Punjab; minister resigns after being named in video

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann asked transport and jails minister Laljit Singh Bhullar to hand in his resignation on Saturday after the district manager of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, died by suicide in Amritsar and left behind a video purportedly blaming the minister.

Bhullar resigned but denied the allegations, calling them completely baseless and false. Opposition parties demand Bhullars arrest and a CBI probe.

Randhawas 12-second video shows him purportedly saying in Punjabi: Your friend has consumed poison due to fear of minister Laljit Bhullar. I wont survive.

A political storm erupted. The opposition alleged that Bhullar harassed and intimidated the officer and tried to force him to award warehousing tenders to Bhullars father. They claim Randhawa was assaulted at the ministers residence and pressured into recording a separate video admitting to a Rs 10 lakh bribe to award the tender to another party — claims that are yet to be officially confirmed.

With assembly elections less than a year away, AAP govt moved swiftly into damage control.

Mann said, The district managers suicide came to my notice. It is very sad, and we sympathise with his family. The reasons for the suicide are a matter of investigation. To ensure an impartial probe, we have asked the minister to resign…. No one should be able to influence the probe.

Any action that leads to someones death is not to be tolerated. We did not enter politics or make parties for this purpose. No official should be pushed so much that he gives up his life, he asserted, and ordered chief secretary KAP Sinha to conduct a fair probe. We will take appropriate action after that. As of now, I have taken the biggest possible action by asking the minister to resign. His portfolio will be given to someone else soon, said Mann.

Bhullar is AAPs MLA from Patti in Tarn Taran district. Randhawa had additional charge of Patti. This is not the first time Bhullar is in the centre of a storm. In April 2024, he faced backlash and was forced to apologise after making derogatory remarks against specific communities at a political rally in Patti.

Randhawas family asked for a CBI probe. His uncle Amarjeet Singh said the family had been under immense stress. He alleged that Randhawa had to scatter his family at different places after receiving threats that gangsters would abduct them and kill him if he did not comply. He was a good person. What we know is that he was assaulted and hit on the head. He could not bear this humiliation, he said. Opposition parties ripped into the AAP-led govt. SADs Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that Randhawa was summoned to the ministers residence on March 13 and assaulted. Bhullar forced Randhawa to record a video at gunpoint that he had taken a bribe. He was unable to bear this bullying and humiliation. There are several tender applications in the name of Bhullars father.

Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla of Congress demanded that a police case be registered against Bhullar and urged the authorities to seize CCTV footage from the ministers residence to verify the reports of the alleged March 13 incident.

Bhullar rejected the allegations, posting on his Facebook page: Our party always stands by the truth and supports what is right. Regarding the accusations made against me, I want a proper investigation so that the truth can come out. For this reason, until this probe is completed, I request the party and our chief minister to accept my resignation as minister. I do not want my position to become a hindrance in this matter. I want a fair investigation to take place. Consequently, I am sending my resignation to the chief minister so that the investigation into this case can proceed correctly.

Describing Bhullars resignation as a drama, Majithia demanded a CBI probe into the case. Randhawas post-mortem should be conducted at PGI-Chandigarh or AIIMS-Delhi, he said, urging the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana high court to take suo motu cognisance and ensure justice.

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