Amritsar/Chandigarh: Punjab transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar resigned from the state cabinet on Saturday after chief minister Bhagwant Mann asked him to step down amid allegations of abetment to suicide of a warehousing corporation official.Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, a district manager with the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly died by suicide after consuming poison on Friday. Before his death, Randhawa released a 12-second video, saying he had taken poison out of fear of minister Laljit Bhullar and would not survive.Following the incident, Mann sought Bhullar’s resignation and ordered a probe, assigning the inquiry to chief secretary KAP Sinha. Bhullar denied the allegations, terming them false, and said he stepped down to ensure an impartial investigation.“It is very sad and we sympathise with his family. But the reasons behind the suicide are a matter of investigation. To ensure a fair probe, we have asked the minister to resign. No one should be able to influence it,” Mann said at a press conference.He added that any action leading to a person’s death would not be tolerated. “No official should be pushed to the extent that he gives up on life,” the CM said, adding that Bhullar’s portfolio would be reassigned soon.Bhullar is AAP MLA from Patti in Tarn Taran district, where Randhawa also held additional charge.Talking to the media, Amarjeet Singh, Randhawa’s uncle, said the family had been under “immense stress”. He alleged that Randhawa had left his mother at their home in Gurnam Nagar and moved his children to a relative’s house after receiving threats that gangsters would abduct them and kill him if he did not comply. “He was a good person. What we know is that he was assaulted and hit on the head. He could not bear this humiliation,” he said.Assistant deputy commissioner of police B V Sirivennela said talks with the family were ongoing.Demanding justice, Amarjeet Singh called for a CBI or high-level probe. “Our nephew will not return, but he must get justice—it will give us some peace of mind,” he said, also seeking a postmortem by a special board of doctors.Akali Dal and Congress leaders alleged that a Food Corporation of India warehouse project in Bhullar’s constituency, with the warehousing corporation as the nodal agency, was linked to the matter.In another purported 32-second video, Randhawa is heard claiming he accepted Rs 10 lakh to clear tenders. Police sources said the video may have been recorded under pressure, though it could not be independently verified.In a Facebook post, Bhullar termed the allegations “baseless and false” but sought a proper investigation. “I do not want my position as a minister to become a hindrance in this matter; I want a fair investigation to take place,” he said, adding that he had submitted his resignation to the chief minister.
