Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of misleading the family of the 47-year-old Dalit man who allegedly died by suicide in Sangrur by providing a “recommendation” letter instead of a job offer.
The Dalit man died on Monday night after allegedly consuming poison, with his family claiming he was harassed and subjected to casteist slurs for questioning finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the supply of drugs in the area during an event on Sunday. The body was cremated on Tuesday.
After meeting the bereaved family in Sangrur on Friday, Warring claimed that instead of an appointment letter, the family had been given a letter from the local deputy commissioner recommending that a government job be provided to one of its members. He alleged that the family was led to believe it was a job offer before the cremation.
Warring termed the episode “cheating and fraud” against the family of a man who, he alleged, was driven to suicide after being intimidated and humiliated by Cheema’s associates.
He reiterated the Congress demand for Cheema’s immediate removal from the finance ministry and his arrest after registration of a case for alleged abetment to suicide.
{{/usCountry}}He reiterated the Congress demand for Cheema’s immediate removal from the finance ministry and his arrest after registration of a case for alleged abetment to suicide.
{{/usCountry}}Later replying to a question during an interaction with the media, Warring rejected the allegations that the Opposition was politicising the issue. He said the man had named the minister in his dying declaration and that it was the Congress’s responsibility to stand by his family.
Warring said the entire rank and file of the Congress, right from the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to the grassroots workers, stood by the family for getting justice, adding that the party staged demonstrations all over the state on Friday seeking action against Cheema.
The protesters submitted memorandums addressed to the Punjab director general of police (DGP), seeking registration of an FIR against Cheema and his immediate arrest for allegedly abetting the suicide.
The Congress also alleged that the cremation was carried out forcibly by the government against the wishes of his family, and called for urgent police action in the case.
Meanwhile, Mohanjit Singh, who was allegedly assaulted and tortured in custody after showing a black flag during chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s programme in Sangrur on September 2, also met the Dalit man’s family on Friday, where he announced that a protest will be held outside the CM’s residence in Sangrur on September 13.