Actor Varinder Ghuman, who shared screen space with Salman Khan, dies of heart attack
Chandigarh (PTI): Professional bodybuilder and actor Varinder Singh Ghuman passed away following a heart attack on Thursday, his family has said.
Ghuman's manager, Yadvinder Singh, said the actor was experiencing shoulder pain and had gone to a private hospital in Amritsar for treatment.
His nephew Amanjot Singh Ghuman told reporters in Jalandhar that the actor suffered a heart attack in the hospital around 5 pm.
Forty-one-year-old Ghuman had worked with superstar Salman Khan in the film 'Tiger-3' in 2023 and other Hindi films like 'Roar: Tigers of Sundarbans' in 2014 and 'Marjaavan' in 2019. He also worked in the Punjabi film 'Kabaddi Once Again' in 2012.
He won the Mr India title in 2009 and had secured second place in the Mr Asia pageant. A native of Gurdaspur, he was currently residing in Jalandhar.
Politicians across party lines condoled his demise.
Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu called Ghuman the "pride of Punjab" and termed his death as an "irreparable loss for the country".
"Passing away of the pride of Punjab, 'the He-Man of India', Varinder Ghuman ji, is an irreparable loss for the country. He set new standards in the world of fitness with his hard work and vegetarian lifestyle. His life will always be a source of inspiration for the youth," the BJP leader said on X.
Congress MP and former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa credited Ghuman with bringing glory to Punjab.
"It is heartbreaking to hear the news of the sudden demise of Punjab's famous bodybuilder and actor Varinder Singh Ghuman. He brought glory to Punjab with his hard work, discipline, and talent. May Waheguru grant eternal peace to the departed soul and give strength to the family to bear this loss," Randhawa said on X.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
