Punjab's Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is under fire for refusing a CBI investigation into the suicide of a warehousing official, sparking allegations of a cover-up and raising questions about government transparency.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Tuesday slammed Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for not ordering a CBI probe into the suicide of an official of the warehousing corporation, alleging that the government wanted to "protect" former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar.
Mann on Tuesday virtually rejected the demand for a CBI investigation into the alleged suicide of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa in Amritsar, saying the state police is capable of probing the case fairly and no one will be shielded.
Randhawa, the district manager of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly died by suicide by consuming poison early Saturday.
A video surfaced on social media in which he purportedly claimed harassment by Bhullar, who resigned as minister later in the day at the direction of the chief minister amid the row.
SAD leader and former Punjab minister Majithia slammed Mann for not handing over the probe into the suicide case to the CBI.
"The Chief Minister's decision to deny a CBI probe exposed the government's involvement in corruption, intimidation and criminal activities," Majithia alleged in a statement here.
Raising questions over the government's intentions, he alleged that the chief minister, "intoxicated with power," failed to acknowledge the pain of the dead officer's family, including his children, elderly mother and wife.
The Akali leader questioned the "silence" of AAP's women MLAs, saying those who speak about women's dignity in the Assembly failed to stand with a grieving widow.
Majithia asserted that Punjab was ready to hold the government accountable and said the "limit of atrocities" by the present dispensation was nearing its end.
Congress MP and former Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, also slammed Mann, asking if the Punjab government has nothing to hide, why is it afraid of an independent investigation?
"Why is the Punjab government not ready to have an investigation conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)?" he asked.
He urged the state government to rise above politics and allow an impartial investigation.
Former minister Bhullar, who was accused of abetting the suicide of Randhawa, was arrested from Mandi Gobindgarh in Fatehgarh Sahib district on Monday, two days after Randhawa's suicide.
The Amritsar police booked Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar and personal assistant Dilbag Singh on Saturday night under Bharatya Nyaya Sanhita sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) and 3 (5) (common intention).
Mann had said on Monday that strict action would be taken against anyone who violates the law, irrespective of their position.