CHANDIGARH: Congress AICC general secretary in-charge of Punjab Sachin Pilot, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and other party leaders were detained by police on Tuesday during a protest demanding the removal of Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema over the alleged suicide of a Dalit man.The protesters also demanded an independent probe into the incident. They tried to march towards Cheema’s official residence and attempted to force their way through barricades, following which police used water cannons.Gulzar Singh, a resident of Dirba in Sangrur district, died on September 7 after allegedly consuming poison. His family has alleged that he was harassed and subjected to casteist slurs after questioning Cheema about the supply of drugs in his area at an event in Dirba a day earlier.Addressing protesters outside the Punjab Congress headquarters ahead of the march, Pilot attacked the AAP government over Singh’s alleged suicide.He said Singh had raised the issue of the drug menace but was subjected to so much pressure that he had to take his own life.“We have no personal enmity with Cheema sahib. But you are sitting in office, you are the finance minister. A man is taking his life and making a video saying that ‘I am taking my own life because of this person’. Does the law not say that there should be an investigation, there should be an FIR?” asked Pilot.He alleged that the AAP had not fulfilled any of its poll promises and had worked to push Punjab into the “black darkness of drugs”.“Today, ‘chitta’ (synthetic drugs) is being delivered home. You make a phone call and it is reaching every home,” Pilot charged.This was Pilot’s first visit to Punjab since he was appointed AICC general secretary in-charge of the state.Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and party workers welcomed Pilot by showering flower petals on him.The protest brought together the faction-ridden Punjab Congress, with Warring and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who has opposed Warring’s retention as president, joining the march.Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa also joined the protest.Heavy police deployment was made and barricades were erected to prevent Congress leaders and workers from heading towards Cheema’s official residence.Later, several Congress leaders, including Pilot and Bajwa, and workers were detained by police.A purported video of Singh’s last moments surfaced in which he spoke about questioning Cheema, prompting opposition parties to demand the resignations of the finance minister and chief minister Bhagwant Mann.(With Agency Inputs)
