In a move to build pressure on the AAP government, a high-level Punjab BJP delegation met with Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Wednesday to formally request a CBI investigation into the suicide of a state warehousing official. Led by state president Sunil Jakhar and working president Ashwani Sharma, the group submitted a memorandum alleging that the death of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa exposes a deep-seated ‘abuse of power’ and a calculated attempt by the state administration to protect influential figures.
Randhawa, who served as the district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, committed suicide on Saturday. A posthumous video surfaced shortly after, in which he accused the then-Cabinet Minister and Patti MLA Laljit Singh Bhullar of persistent harassment. Following the outcry and a directive from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Bhullar resigned and was arrested on Monday. However, the Chief Minister has since dismissed the need for a central probe, maintaining that the Punjab Police is fully equipped to conduct a fair investigation without bias.
Also read: Aadhaar key to transparent service delivery: Punjab Guv
Addressing the media outside the Raj Bhavan, Jakhar criticised the state government as ‘completely defunct’. The BJP's memorandum specifically highlighted the initial delay in registering an FIR, arguing that the police only acted after significant political and public pressure. The delegation further claimed that the eventual arrests of Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh, and his personal assistant only happened after Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured a CBI inquiry during a Lok Sabha session.
Beyond the suicide, the BJP leaders pointed to ‘alarming’ irregularities in the tender process, noting that a sitting minister's father was allegedly directly involved in official bidding. This, they argued, represented a blatant conflict of interest. The family of the deceased further alleged that Randhawa had previously submitted formal complaints regarding mental torture and humiliation to the Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner and other senior officials in mid-March, but these warnings were systematically ignored.
The BJP maintains that only a time-bound, independent probe by the CBI can ensure transparency, citing concerns over the safety of Randhawa's family and the potential for a state-level ‘hush-up’. Currently, the Amritsar Police have booked the three accused under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for abetment of suicide, criminal intimidation and common intention. The FIR, based on a complaint by Randhawa’s wife, Upinder Kaur, details allegations that her husband was coerced to allot a warehouse tender to the minister's father and was physically assaulted at the minister's residence on March 13.
Follow us
