Chandigarh, March 23
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia today demanded that the post mortem of the mortal remains of Warehousing Corporation officer Dr Gagandeep Singh Randhawa be done at the PGIMER here or by a panel of AIIMS doctors to ensure complete fair play, even as he demanded the arrest of former Transport minister Laljit Bhullar’s father and personal assistant as well as action against the officers who did not pay heed to the SOS pleas of Dr Randhawa.
Addressing a press conference here, Majithia while thanking all opposition leaders as well as Kisan organizations and the Warehousing Corporation union for putting up a united front which he said finally led to the arrest of Laljit Bhullar today, also appreciated the iron will of the Randhawa family for withstanding intense pressure from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in its quest to seek justice for Dr Randhawa.
Asserting that the case was not only one of forcing Dr Randhawa to commit suicide after stripping and beating him, Majithia said, “There is also a larger case of rampant corruption committed by Laljit Bhullar and AAP functionaries”. He said the role of Amritsar deputy commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh as well as the Managing Director of Warehousing Corporation – Gautam Jain and chief secretary KAP Sinha who did not pay any heed to the repeated pleas of the officers should also be probed. “This is why a CBI probe is essential,” he added.
Majithia also took on chief minister Bhagwant Mann for resorting to cheap and shameless remarks that his government did not believe in ‘cash or farmaish’ while reacting to the arrest of Laljit Bhullar. He said the joint pressure of the opposition as well as the unions, the Randhawa family and the union home minister’s statement that the centre was open to ordering a CBI probe into the case forced the AAP government’s hand. “The government has been protecting Bhullar since March 21. First the FIR in the case was not registered for 24 hours. After this the government did not move to either arrest the minister or forward his resignation to the Governor. Only after it was cornered on all fronts did it decide to arrest the minister today”, he added.
Majithia said in case the chief minister truly regarded the entire State and the bereaved family as part of his larger family he should not have any qualms about agreeing to a CBI probe into the case. “All the MPs of Punjab except the AAP MPs are writing to the home minister to demand a CBI probe. The very fact that the AAP MPs are not making this demand makes it clear that they are one with the AAP government in resisting a free and fair inquiry into the case”, he added.
