Ex-Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar arrested under official's suicide case

Chandigarh: Former Punjab minister and AAP MLA Laljit Singh Bhullar, accused of abetting the suicide of a state warehousing corporation official, was arrested on Monday, said sources.

Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, the district manager of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly ended his life by consuming poison early Saturday. A video appeared in which he purportedly claimed harassment by Bhullar, who resigned as minister later in the day at the direction of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann amid the row.

The police on Saturday night booked Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar and personal assistant Dilbag Singh under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).


Earlier in the day, the family of Randhawa issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Punjab government to arrest him.

The family of Randhawa has already said that they would not allow a post-mortem examination and cremation until Bhullar is arrested.

Speaking to the media in Amritsar on Monday, Randhawa's family expressed displeasure over Bhullar not being arrested yet and demanded that he be arrested at the earliest.

"It is my ultimatum that if nothing is done within 24 hours, then I, along with my children (two daughters and a son), will come on the roads," said Randhawa's wife Upinder Kaur, who is a science teacher.

A purported CCTV footage surfaced on social media on Monday, showing Randhawa consuming a poisonous substance.

The opposition parties have already turned the heat on the AAP government demanding the arrest of the former minister.