Chandigarh: The members of the Istri Akali Dal on Saturday marched towards the residence of chief minister Bhagwant Mann, demanding his immediate resignation and registration of a criminal case against his wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur Mann, over Rs 5 crore bribe allegations in a rape case.The Istri Akali Dal members, led by Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal, MLA Ganieve Kaur and women’s wing president Biba Hargobind Kaur, were stopped by the police as they tried to march towards the CM’s residence. They subsequently staged a sit-in on the road and courted arrest.Addressing the protesters, Harsimrat alleged that the CM’s office had become a “den of corruption”. She claimed that crores of rupees were being sought by the chief minister’s wife to let off a man against whom two women had levelled allegations of rape and kidnapping.Harsimrat said the Shiromani Akali Dal would launch a mass movement across the state until Dr Gurpreet Kaur Mann was arrested. She also demanded the arrest of all other accused in the case and the dismissal of police officers who, she alleged, had filed cancellation reports to favour the rape accused and facilitate his release from jail.She also sought protection for the alleged rape victims who had filed complaints against the media influencer and demanded a CBI probe into the entire episode.“It has also come to light that five women personally complained to the chief minister against the same man, but the latter took no action in the matter. This should also be probed to ascertain why the CM’s office was siding with rapists,” Harsimrat said.The allegations against Dr Gurpreet Kaur, however, have been rejected by the Aam Aadmi Party.The AAP claimed that it had served a legal notice on Justice Ranjit Singh (retired) seeking an unconditional apology over the allegations that Dr Gurpreet Kaur had sought Rs 5 crore to suppress a rape case.The former judge has claimed that he had not received any notice and would present his facts before the court rather than responding to the notice.
