Official's suicide: Former Punjab minister Bhullar, his father, among 3 booked
Chandigarh (PTI): Police have booked former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar in connection with the suicide of a state warehousing corporation official, officials said on Sunday.
Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, the district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly took his own life by consuming a poisonous substance on Saturday.
The police also booked Bhullar's father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and personal assistant Dilbag Singh.
The FIR has been registered under sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The case was registered on a complaint of Randhawa's wife, Upinder Kaur, at Ranjit Avenue Police Station in Amritsar on Saturday night.
On Saturday, Bhullar tendered his resignation from the state cabinet after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asked him to step down amid allegations of abetment of suicide.
A video surfaced on social media on Saturday in which Randhawa, who held the additional charge of Patti, was purportedly heard saying that he had consumed Celphos and accused the transport minister of harassment.
"Kha layi 'celphos' tuhade yaar ne. Minister Laljit Bhullar de dar ton. Hun nahi main bachda," (Your friend has eaten Celphos because of fear of minister Laljit Bhullar. I will not survive now)," Randhawa says.
Bhullar, the MLA from Patti in Tarn Taran, rejected allegations against him as baseless.
Earlier, Mann said he had directed the chief secretary to conduct an impartial probe into the matter and asked the minister to step down for a fair probe.
No negligence would be tolerated in the matter, Mann had said, adding Bhullar's portfolios of transport and prison would be allocated to some other minister.
As the video surfaced online, the opposition party leaders slammed the AAP government and demanded action against Bhullar.
They accused Bhullar of pressuring Randhawa to allot a warehouse tender to his father.
Bhullar was also accused of making a video of Randhawa and forcing him to admit to accepting a Rs 10-lakh bribe from another party.
An allegation stated that on March 13, Randhawa was called to Bhullar's place, where he was assaulted and humiliated.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
