Sangrur suicide: Five booked after man allegedly pressured to apologise

A 47-year-old Sangrur man allegedly died by suicide after being pressured to apologise and subjected to casteist slurs following his questioning of Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema over drug supply. Police formed an SIT and booked five people under BNS and SC/ST Act provisions

Chandigarh: A controversy erupted after a 47-year-old man from Sangrur allegedly committed 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. Gulzar Singh, a resident of Dirba village, 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 and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. His nephew Karanvir Singh said Gulzar was taken outside the venue of the event in the village by some locals after he raised the drug issue before Cheema. The daily wager was subsequently pressured by them to apologise, and he consumed poison, Karanvir said, adding, “We want justice”. Punjab Police set up a special investigation team (SIT) led by an additional director general of police rank officer in connection with the suicide incident.

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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. Gulzar’s son, Lakhwinder Singh, alleged in his complaint that his father was humiliated and subjected to casteist slurs by the accused while the police came to their house to question him. With the purported video of Gulzar’s final moments being widely circulated on social media, opposition parties cornered the Mann-led AAP government on the issue.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that Gulzar was pushed to take his own life. “Gulzar Singh of Dirba merely asked Harpal Cheema a question about the drug menace, and he was allegedly pushed to the point of taking his own life,” he said. “He had questioned Harpal Cheema at a public gathering about his son’s drug addiction and asked what was being done to eradicate drugs. After this, he was allegedly pushed to such a state that he was forced to consume Celphos,” he alleged, referring to the pesticide.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said he was deeply saddened by this incident. “A father, watching his family being destroyed as his son battled drug addiction, raised his voice and questioned @HarpalCheemaMLA. He was subjected to such immense harassment and pressure that he ultimately attempted suicide,” Warring said in a post on X.

In the video, Gulzar is heard questioning Cheema about the availability of drugs in his area. “Sarpanch will be responsible for my death. I had questioned about ‘chitta’ (an umbrella term for synthetic drugs). My son takes it. Everything is sold,” Gulzar is heard saying. “Chitta band nahi hoya (Supply of chitta has not stopped),” he said.

Gulzar was initially taken to the Civil Hospital in Sangrur and later shifted to Rajendra Hospital in Patiala. He was subsequently brought back to Sangrur and admitted to a hospital there before being shifted to a private hospital in Ludhiana, where he died on Monday night. According to the FIR, Baljit called Gulzar on September 7 to apologise at a Panchayat. Unable to bear the humiliation, he consumed a poisonous substance, it said Gulzar was cremated in Sangrur on Tuesday evening amid deployment of a heavy police force.

Earlier, a police force was also deployed at a local hospital during the postmortem examination. Lakhwinder said his brother would be given a government job and told reporters in Sangrur that the family was satisfied with the police action in the matter. Several politicians from opposition parties, including SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Congress leaders Sukhpal Singh Khaira, and Vijay Inder Singla, visited Sangrur.