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Punjab Dalit Man’s Death Puts AAP Minister Under Pressure
Gulzar Singh was a man from a Punjab village who worried about drugs affecting his family and neighbours.
He publicly asked Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema why drugs were being sold there.
The article says Singh was later pressured to apologize and felt very distressed.
He consumed poison and died two days later.
Before dying, he made a video naming Cheema and some local village leaders.
Police charged five local people, but Cheema was not included in the FIR.
Opposition parties say the government is protecting the minister and not keeping its promises to Dalits.
Cheema says the allegations are part of a political conspiracy and that he will present evidence after the investigation.
The government announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a job for one family member.
Gulzar Singh, a Dalit resident of Toor Banjara, died after consuming poison on September 8, 2026.
Before his death, Singh recorded a video naming Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and local panchayat members amid allegations of intimidation.
Singh had publicly questioned Cheema about drug sales, saying addiction had harmed his son and three young men in the village had died.
Police charged the village sarpanch, her husband and three others with abetment to suicide and under the SC/ST Act, but Cheema was not named in the FIR.
The Opposition called the case a cover-up, while Cheema and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann rejected the allegations as political exploitation of a family tragedy.
- Who
- Gulzar Singh, a Dalit resident of Toor Banjara; Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema; local panchayat members; Punjab government and Opposition parties.
- What
- Singh died by suicide after allegedly facing pressure following his public complaint about drug sales; the case has triggered demands for action against Cheema.
- Where
- Toor Banjara village in Dirba assembly constituency, Sangrur district, Punjab.
- When
- Singh confronted Cheema on September 6, 2026, consumed poison on September 8, and later died.
- Why
- The alleged pressure followed Singh’s public questions about drug sales and addiction in his village; the political dispute concerns whether Cheema should face investigation or resignation.
Opposition allegations
AAP and government response
Cheema’s alleged responsibility
Opposition allegations
The Opposition says Singh’s dying declaration naming Cheema requires an investigation, and that excluding the minister from the FIR indicates a cover-up.
AAP and government response
Cheema denies involvement, says he is being framed, and argues that a minister cannot be implicated merely because someone makes a statement.
Handling of the drug crisis
Opposition allegations
Opposition leaders say AAP failed to fulfill its promise to end the drug problem and accuse the government of protecting those responsible.
AAP and government response
Cheema blames the BJP-Akali coalition government that governed Punjab from 2007 to 2017 for creating the drug crisis, while Bhagwant Mann says the Opposition is exploiting isolated incidents for political purposes.
Ministerial accountability
Opposition allegations
Opposition parties demand Cheema’s resignation and compare the case with the earlier resignation and arrest of minister Laljit Singh Bhullar over allegations of abetting suicide.
AAP and government response
Cheema says he will provide evidence after the police and Special Investigation Team complete their work, while Mann supports him and rejects calls for resignation.
Key facts
- Deceased
- Gulzar Singh, a resident of Toor Banjara village
- Relevant minister
- Harpal Singh Cheema, Punjab Finance Minister and Dirba MLA
- Drug complaint
- Singh said drugs were openly sold in the village, his son was addicted, and three young men had died from addiction
- Police charges
- The village sarpanch, her husband and three others were charged with abetment to suicide and under the SC/ST Act
- FIR status
- Harpal Singh Cheema was not named in the FIR
- Government assistance
- The government announced Rs 5 lakh compensation and employment for one family member
- Political response
- Congress, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal called the FIR a cover-up; AAP called the criticism vulture politics
Quotes
Harpal Singh Cheema
Punjab Finance Minister and AAP leader
“Talk about Punjab's roads! Talk about changing Punjab's picture! If you have a new plan, bring it. Otherwise, wherever some small incident has happened, all of you rush there, asking for resignations. This vulture politics that starts wherever there is even a faint smell of a corpse ought to stop.”
NDTV
“The Opposition has turned a family's tragedy into vulture politics. The BJP, SAD and Congress have joined hands to frame a minister and play politics over a dead body. That is a conspiracy, not a search for truth.”
NDTV
Sources
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