Rahul Gandhi targets Punjab government over villager’s alleged suicide

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday criticised the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab over the alleged suicide of a villager who had questioned finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the continued availability of drugs in the state.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha demanded Cheema’s resignation and called on chief minister Bhagwant Mann to order an independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the villager’s death.

Gulzar Singh, a 47-year-old Dalit daily-wage worker from Dirba in Sangrur district, died on Monday night after allegedly consuming poison. According to his family, Singh had questioned Cheema about the supply of drugs in the area during an event in Dirba on 6 September, a day before the incident.

In a Hindi post on X, Rahul Gandhi alleged that a “dangerous pattern” was emerging under the AAP government in Punjab, where people raising questions about the administration’s failures were met with threats and torture.

Rahul Gandhi claimed Singh, whose son had allegedly become a victim of drug abuse, was humiliated and pressured to apologise after questioning the minister about the government’s inability to curb the drug trade.

He further alleged that Singh was moved from one hospital to another without receiving adequate treatment and eventually died.

Referring to another recent incident, Rahul Gandhi said he had spoken to Mohanjeet Singh, a young man who was allegedly tortured after protesting against chief minister Mann. He asserted that governments were accountable to the people and should not suppress those seeking answers.

Rahul Gandhi urged the chief minister to secure the finance minister’s resignation and ensure that Cheema’s name was included in the First Information Report. He also called for swift justice for Singh’s family.

Following a complaint from the family, police booked five people under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with abetment of suicide, along with relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A purported video recorded shortly before Singh’s death showed him raising concerns before Cheema about the availability of “chitta”, a commonly used term for synthetic drugs, in his area. In the video, he also referred to his son’s alleged drug use and held the village sarpanch responsible for his situation.

The video’s circulation on social media intensified the political controversy, with the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiromani Akali Dal accusing the state government of failing to address Punjab’s drug problem. Opposition parties have demanded an investigation, while the BJP and Congress have also called for the resignations of Mann and Cheema.

The AAP government is separately facing criticism over allegations that another Sangrur villager was tortured in custody after waving black flags and raising slogans against the administration over the drug issue.

With PTI inputs