Sangrur ‘suicide’: Oppn hatching conspiracy to frame me, says Cheema

In his first reaction to the controversy, Cheema alleged that the opposition parties were “hatching a conspiracy” on how to frame a minister in the matter

Punjab cabinet minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday accused the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of conspiring to falsely frame him in the case involving the death of a Dalit daily wager allegedly by suicide in Sangrur district.

The minister said he had sufficient evidence to counter the allegations but did not want to disclose it while the investigation was underway. (HT)

In his first reaction to the controversy, Cheema alleged that the opposition parties were “hatching a conspiracy” on how to frame a minister in the matter.

The minister said he had sufficient evidence to counter the allegations but did not want to disclose it while the investigation was underway. “Let the investigation be completed. I will respond to each and every leader on this issue when the time comes and will show the people how they are playing politics over bodies,” he said in a terse response to a media query at a press conference here.

The minister’s statement came shortly after the Punjab and Haryana high court heard a PIL related to the matter. The opposition has been demanding Cheema’s resignation and the registration of an FIR against him. On Tuesday, Punjab Congress leaders also staged a demonstration against the minister in Chandigarh. The Dalit daily wager, who hailed from the minister’s assembly constituency, died allegedly by suicide on September 7. The victim’s family and some opposition leaders have alleged that he was harassed for questioning Cheema during a village programme in Dirba a day earlier over the availability of drugs in the area.

Police subsequently registered a case against five people on charges, including abetment to suicide and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. However, the Opposition, particularly the Congress and the BJP, have been demanding that the minister be named in the case. A purported video of the victim’s last moments, in which he is heard referring to Cheema, had intensified the war of words over the matter.