Chandigarh: Punjab cabinet minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday accused the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal of conspiring to falsely implicate him in the case involving the death of a Dalit daily wager by suicide in Sangrur district.
“Let the investigation be completed.
In his first reaction to the controversy, Cheema said he had sufficient evidence to counter the allegations but did not want to disclose it while the investigation is underway. I will respond to each and every leader on this issue,” he said in a terse response to a media query at a press conference here. Cheema said the matter had reached the high court, which had asked how a minister could be named as an accused based on someone’s statement.
Police subsequently registered a case against five people on charges, including abetment to suicide and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. However, the Opposition, particularly the Congress and BJP, demanded that the minister be named in the case. A purported video of the victim’s last moments, in which he is heard referring to Cheema, intensified the war of words over the matter.
The minister’s statement came shortly after the Punjab and Haryana high court heard a PIL related to the Sangrur man’s death. The opposition has been demanding Cheema’s resignation and the registration of an FIR against him regarding the matter. The Dalit daily wager, who hailed from the minister’s assembly constituency, died by suicide on September 7.
The victim’s family and some opposition leaders have alleged that he was harassed for questioning Cheema during a village programme in Dirba a day earlier over the availability of drugs in the area. On Tuesday, Punjab Congress leaders also staged a demonstration against the minister in Chandigarh.
