As demands for a CBI probe into the alleged suicide of a Dalit man in Sangrur grew louder, the High Court here asked the Punjab government on Wednesday to file a status report in the case while state minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who is at the centre of the row, broke his silence, accusing the opposition of hatching a conspiracy to “frame” him.
this is the first time that the minister has himself responded to the allegations While the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab had come out in defence of Cheema. The issue, which has snowballed into a major political controversy with the opposition Congress, Akali Dal and the BJP targeting the AAP government and demanding Cheema’s removal, has reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. BJP MP Tarun Chugh met the family of Gulzar Singh and demanded a CBI probe.
Chugh said he would soon take up the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and seek an investigation by the central agency so that the truth can emerge without political or administrative pressure.
Petitioner Ravinder Singh Sampla said the court has asked the Punjab government to file a status report and conduct a proper investigation into the incident. Sampla said he has prayed for a CBI probe into the daily wager’s death as he apprehends that the Punjab Police would not conduct a proper investigation. However, Cheema alleged that the BJP, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal are “hatching a conspiracy on how to frame a minister”. Cheema also said that the original statement of Gulzar Singh’s family is already in the public domain. “People have seen it and know the facts surrounding the matter,” he said.
