Late Friday night, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, the District Manager of the Punjab Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, consumed Sulfas. He was rushed to a hospital, where he passed away on Saturday morning while undergoing treatment. In a video recorded prior to his death, he named Transport Minister Laljit Bhullar. Following the emergence of this video, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has accepted Laljit Bhullar’s resignation.
Upon receiving information about the incident, police and administrative officials arrived at the hospital and initiated an investigation into the entire sequence of events. Police officials stated that the investigation is being conducted while taking all aspects of the case into consideration.
Following the incident, MP Gurjit Singh Aujla visited the hospital and criticized the state government regarding the matter. He asserted that the allegations involving corruption are grave and that an impartial investigation into the entire case must be conducted to ensure that the facts come to light clearly. Currently, the police and relevant departments are actively engaged in investigating the case. Officials stated that the situation will become clearer only after the investigation has been completed.
CM Says: “We Will Not Allow The Investigation To Be Compromised”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated that the Cabinet Minister’s resignation has been accepted. “We cannot allow the investigation to be compromised,” he said. “We did not come to power to harass officials.” Bhullar’s portfolio will soon be reassigned to another minister.
Opposition Launches Attack
Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira has demanded the immediate registration of a criminal case against Laljit Bhullar. Khaira alleged that Bhullar is accused of mentally and physically harassing Gagandeep Randhawa, the District Manager of the Warehousing Corporation, which ultimately drove Randhawa to commit suicide. Writing on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), he stated:
“First, the Minister and his associates physically assaulted Randhawa, and subsequently, Randhawa named the Minister in his video before taking his own life. I urge the government and the police to arrest this Minister immediately.” If this does not happen, it will be presumed that the police are being utilized solely to settle personal scores with the opposition.
Regarding this matter, senior Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia took to social media to corner the government.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Sunil Jakhar remarked that while people previously lost their lives for failing to pay ransom, officials are now being forced to sacrifice their lives for failing to fulfill the bribery demands of government ministers. Punjab is currently passing through its most difficult phase under the rule of a “brutally honest” government. Is the Chief Minister still describing his administration as a government of “brutally honest” individuals?
Separately, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh stated that the suicide of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa the District Manager of the Warehouse Corporation in Amritsar is deeply distressing and raises serious questions regarding the modus operandi of those currently in power.
He was punished for his honesty in the form of torture. He was summoned to a minister’s residence, subjected to physical assault, and coercively pressured to confess to accepting a bribe of ₹10 lakh. These circumstances expose how ministers like Laljit Singh Bhullar summon officials and exert pressure on them to pay illegal commissions.
Corruption within the AAP government has reached its zenith today. Now that the Aam Aadmi Party has realized that the people of Punjab will oust them from power next year, they are plundering the state and sacrificing honest officials.
We demand an immediate, high level inquiry into the suicide of Gagandeep Singh. The culprits must be held accountable at all costs.
