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The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday sought a status report from the Punjab government on the investigation into the Gulzar Singh suicide case, asking for details of the progress made and action taken so far.
The direction was issued during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) related to the case. The court asked the state government to submit the current status of the investigation and the steps taken by authorities. The High Court, however, refused to issue a notice to the state government at this stage and only directed it to file a status report. During the hearing, Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra questioned how a minister could be made an accused in the matter. The court observed that the village sarpanch and other persons have already been made accused in the case. The court is now awaiting the status report from the Punjab government, following which further proceedings and directions in the matter will be decided. Reacting to the court's order, DSP Dirba, Rupinder Kaur Bajwa said, "The Chief Justice has directed two things: first, to file a status report of the case, and second, to ensure that the investigation of the case is conducted properly." Gulzar Singh, a Sangrur resident and member of the Valmiki community, died after allegedly being harassed for confronting the minister over Punjab's worsening drug crisis. He took the extreme step after confronting Minister Cheema during a public event regarding the drug addiction affecting his son. Following the encounter, Singh was allegedly subjected to severe intimidation, mental distress, and pressure from local leaders and panchayat members to issue a public apology for questioning the minister.Earlier on Tuesday, senior Punjab Congress leader and MLA Pargat Singh slammed the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, alleging a political collusion with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while accusing the state machinery of turning Punjab into a "police state" to suppress dissent over an escalating narcotics crisis. Speaking to ANI, the former Indian hockey captain slammed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for unfulfilled campaign promises regarding drug eradication "Initially, they used to claim that all it takes is political will, and that they would eradicate drugs within three to four months. Today, after nearly four and three-quarter years have passed, their 'A-team' and 'B-team' are putting on a fixed match to show as if the competition here is only between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party, and that Congress doesn't exist here. The reality is that they are in collusion," Singh said. (ANI)
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