NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Aam Aadmi Party of “crushing those who question” the Punjab government after a man died by suicide following alleged pressure to apologise for publicly questioning the state’s finance minister over the drug menace in the state.In a social media post on X, Rahul said Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann should immediately demand his minister Harpal Singh Cheema’s resignation and ensure an independent and impartial investigation.“A dangerous pattern is emerging in Punjab’s AAP government – if you question government failures, the response will come in the form of threats and torture,” Rahul said.“Gulzar Singh ji, from the Dalit community, who had to watch his son fall victim to drugs, asked the finance minister just this much: why has the government failed so miserably in stopping the drug trade? For just this, he was tortured and humiliated so much, pressured so intensely to apologise, that he consumed poison. Wandering from one hospital to another, without access to treatment, he ultimately lost the battle for his life,” he added.He said the government’s job is to answer to the people, “not to crush those who ask questions”.“Last week, I also spoke with a young Mohanjeet Singh, who was tortured for protesting against chief minister Bhagwant Mann,” Rahul said.“The government’s job is to answer to the people, not to crush those who ask questions. May Gulzar Singh ji’s family get justice as soon as possible. The chief minister should immediately demand the finance minister’s resignation and ensure an independent and impartial investigation, with his name registered in the FIR,” he added.A controversy erupted after a 47-year-old man, Gulzar Singh, from Sangrur allegedly died by suicide, with his family claiming that he was asked to apologise and subjected to casteist slurs for questioning finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema over the “unabated” supply of ‘chitta’ in his area at an event on September 6.Singh died on Monday night after allegedly consuming poison, his family members said.A purported video of Gulzar’s last moments surfaced in which he spoke about questioning the finance minister, prompting opposition parties to demand the resignations of Cheema as well as Mann.
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Punjab Police set up a special investigation team (SIT), led by an officer of additional director general of police rank, in connection with the suicide incident.Following a complaint by Gulzar’s family, five villagers – Baljit Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Vicky Singh, Gona Singh and Baljinder Kaur – have been booked under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, according to the FIR.
