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Randhawa’s death: Family moves HC, seeks autopsy at PGI
Police had registered an FIR against Bhullar, his father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and PA Dilbag Singh in the case at Ranjit Avenue police station here late on Sunday night under the Sections 109, 351(3) and 3(5) of the BNS.
Hours after former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar’s arrest, the family of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation district manager Gagandeep Singh Randhawa renewed their demand for a post-mortem at PGIMER, Chandigarh, under a judicial magistrate’s supervision, and sought a CBI probe into the case.
Expressing satisfaction over the arrest, the deceased wife, Upinder Kaur, demanded the arrest of the other accused in the case.
“Other accused named in the case should also be arrested at the earliest. Our other demands should also be met to ensure a timely and fair probe. We have already filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana high court to have the post-mortem conducted outside Punjab, preferably in PGIMER, Chandigarh. We are seeking the court’s intervention in the case,” Upinder Kaur said while addressing the media at her residence here.
Police had registered an FIR against Bhullar, his father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and PA Dilbag Singh in the case at Ranjit Avenue police station here late on Sunday night under the Sections 109 (abetment of suicide), 351(3) (criminal intimidation by treating to cause death or grievous hurt) and 3(5) (offence by multiple individuals) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). In the early hours of Saturday, Randhawa 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.
Daughter alleges bias
Earlier in the day, the aggrieved family had threatened to sit on a dharna if Bhullar was not arrested within 24 hours.
The deceased’s daughter, Seerat Kaur, alleged that their family was tortured and is still being harassed.
“I have yet to see my father’s body. If this were an ordinary person, he would have been arrested long ago. But since he is a minister, this is not happening. Do we have two constitutions? Is this justice? What will happen just by the minister resigning? He should be arrested immediately. Twenty-four hours is a very long time. He should have been arrested by now,” Seerat said.
Seerat further alleged that abetment of suicide is a non-bailable offence and Bhullar should not be granted bail. “He should not be allowed to go anywhere. We do not have call records, but the truth can come out through a forensic investigation,” he added.
Meanwhile, various political parties, including the BJP, held protests at various places in Amritsar and other surrounding districts against the AAP government and sought justice for the family. The SAD rank and file took out a candle march in the holy city to seek justice for the family.
Mother moves court
The Punjab and Haryana high court would take up a plea filed by the mother of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa. The plea from the mother, Bhag Kaur, demands that a post-mortem be conducted by a duly constituted medical board outside Punjab, preferably at PGIMER, Chandigarh or GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh or GMSH, Sector 16, Chandigarh or PGIMS, Rohtak, Haryana or AIIMS, Bathinda, in a ‘fair, impartial, and transparent manner.’
The plea also seeks directions to authorities for conducting the post-mortem and preserving and securing all evidence, including the video recording of the post-mortem. “(The registration of FIR is) merely an eye wash and the minister (former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar) exercises his clout in Amritsar and there is a zero possibility of fair and impartial post-mortem to be conducted in Punjab and moreover no prejudice is going to be caused if the truth is unearthed by conducting post-mortem by an independent agency,” the plea stated.
However, deputy commissioner of police (DCP-investigation) RPS Sandhu, after meeting the family, claimed that the family had agreed to have a post-mortem at government medical college in Amritsar.
“The family has agreed to get the post-mortem conducted by doctors of the government medical college, Amritsar, under the supervision of a magistrate, Sandhu claimed, adding that the post-mortem will be conducted on Tuesday.
