A former Punjab minister, Laljit Singh Bhullar, and his father have been booked on charges of abetment of suicide following the death of a state warehousing corporation official in Amritsar. The development comes a day after Bhullar resigned from his post as transport and jails minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
The deceased official allegedly died by suicide after consuming a poisonous substance at his residence in Amritsar. Prior to his death, a video of the official surfaced on social media, in which he claimed he had taken the step out of fear of Bhullar.
A case was lodged on Saturday at the Ranjit Avenue police station against the former minister, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and his personal assistant PA Dilbag Singh. The three accused have been booked under sections 109 (abetment of suicide), 351(3) (criminal intimidation by treating to cause death or grievous hurt) and 3(5) (common intention) of BNS.
The Opposition has sought the immediate arrest of Bhullar, with a joint protest held outside the residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh. A large police contingent was deployed to prevent the protesters from heading towards the chief minister's residence.
