The Punjab and Haryana high court has dismissed anticipatory bail pleas of Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, father of former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, and his PA Dilbagh Singh, in connection with the suicide of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) official Gagandeep Singh Randhawa in March this year.
The witness told police that while returning to Amritsar, the victim revealed he had been threatened and given one week to have the tender re-allotted in the accused’s father’s name, the court said while referring to police report. Based on the complaint, police registered an FIR against Laljit, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and his personal assistant Dilbagh Singh under charges of abetment to suicide. Laljit had to resign as transport minister and is in jail. The court also noted the prosecution’s claims that at the meeting at former minister’s house and he was slapped his back was struck with the butt of a pistol.
The case pertains to the death of Randhawa, a 45-year-old official of the warehousing corporation, who allegedly died by suicide at his residence in Amritsar on March 21 after consuming a poisonous substance.
Before the incident, Randhawa recorded a brief video on his mobile phone, stating that he had taken the extreme step out of fear of Laljit Bhullar.
Allegedly a video was recorded at the house of the former minister, a fact affirmed during the course of investigation, as the sofa set and curtains seen in the video matched with the ones available in one room of the residential house of the main accused, the former minister, it recorded, adding that also the presence of these two petitioners, the victim along with Laljit and one witness, Harpreet Singh Gill, who had accompanied the victim at that time stood confirmed, whereby in order to pressurise and humiliate him, he was forced to confess to having accepted bribe for allotting the tender to the firm. Referring to claims of the prosecution, the court observed that Sukhdev had participated in the tender process, which was allotted to a firm M/s Baba Naga Agro Private Limited, but the victim was being compelled to cancel the same and allot to the father of then transport minister.
“Considering the gravity of the allegations, permitting the petitioners to join the investigation with a protective umbrella of pre-arrest bail will impede the thorough and effective investigation to elicit the truth. They had approached the high court in May claiming that they had been falsely implicated in the case.
Moreover the recovery of the DVR, which was allegedly removed, as also of the pistol and mobile phones are yet to be effected; there being an apprehension expressed of them influencing the witnesses and tampering with the evidence, their custodial interrogation is stated to be imperative, thus this court does not find it to be a case for granting anticipatory bail,” the bench of justice Aman Chaudhary said while dismissing their pleas.
