5 booked for abetment of suicide, caste abuse after Sangrur man dies

47-year-old consumed poison following alleged public humiliation by villagers after he questioned Punjab minister Harpal Cheema over local drug problem.

Sangrur: Police on Tuesday booked five residents of Toor Banjara village for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 47-year-old Dalit man and hurling caste-based insults at him following a public confrontation with Punjab finance minister Harpal Cheema over the region’s drug crisis.

Dirba deputy superintendent of police Rupinder Kaur Bajwa said that an investigation is underway and efforts are on to arrest the accused.

The case was registered under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the BNS and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after the victim died at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana.

Trouble began on Sunday during a public event in the village. The victim approached Cheema on stage to appeal for help regarding his son’s drug addiction, explaining that the youth had even sold household belongings to fund his habit.

Market committee chairman Jasvir Kaur Shergill said Cheema listened to the plea and allowed him onto the stage to request treatment facilities.

Police said the victim’s son uses drugs. The victim demanded to know where his son got the drugs, so police visited his home at his request to question his son about the supplier, intending to register a case and arrest the person

Distressed by the harassment, the victim consumed poison. The victim’s mother said that drug abuse is rampant in the area, noting that two other sons from the family had previously died from injecting “chitta (heroin).” After being turned away from Rajindra Hospital in Patiala due to a lack of ICU beds, the man was taken to another private hospital before being referred to DMC, where he succumbed.

Dirba deputy superintendent of police Rupinder Kaur Bajwa said that investigation is underway to arrest the accused.