Chandigarh/Amritsar, March 23: The Punjab Police arrested former Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Monday afternoon in connection with the suicide of a state warehousing official. The arrest followed intense political pressure and a joint protest by opposition parties after the death of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, an Amritsar-based District Manager for the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation.
Bhullar, who resigned from the cabinet on Saturday, was taken into custody after an FIR was registered at the Ranjit Avenue Police Station. The charges include abetment of suicide and criminal intimidation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Authorities affirmed that the investigation is being handled with priority to ensure a transparent process, following directions from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for an impartial inquiry.
The arrest comes as the deceased’s family maintained a steadfast refusal to perform the last rites until all named individuals were apprehended. Upinder Kaur, the widow of the official, had alleged that her husband was subjected to severe mental and physical harassment over the allotment of warehousing tenders. She stated that the former minister had pressured Randhawa to favor his father in the bidding process.
“The law is the same for everyone, and no negligence will be tolerated,” Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann declared while addressing the media regarding the cabinet exit and subsequent police action. He affirmed that the state government is committed to a fair probe and has already assigned the former minister’s portfolios to other cabinet members to avoid any conflict of interest.
