Chandigarh, March 22 Police used water cannons on Sunday to disperse opposition members as they attempted to force their way through barricades here to "besiege" the residence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during a joint protest to demand the arrest of former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, who is accused of aiding in the suicide of an official of the state warehousing corporation.
Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, the district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly ended his life by consuming poison early Saturday, and a video emerged in which he purportedly claimed harassment by Bhullar, who subsequently resigned from his ministerial position at Mann's direction amidst the controversy.
The police booked Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and personal assistant Dilbag Singh under sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on Saturday night.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Congress, and the BJP had announced that they would jointly "besiege" CM Mann's residence to press their demand for Bhullar's arrest.
Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, along with SAD leaders Bikram Singh Majithia and Daljit Singh Cheema, were among those who participated in the protest.
A large police contingent was deployed at the MLAs' Hostel here to prevent the protesters from heading towards the chief minister's residence. Barricades were also erected by the Chandigarh police.
The opposition parties are demanding Bhullar's arrest and a CBI investigation into the circumstances surrounding the suicide.
Punjab BJP chief Jakhar said they were seeking justice for Randhawa's family.
"Until Bhullar is arrested, the protest will continue," said Jakhar.
Akali leader Majithia told reporters that Bhullar should have been arrested in this matter.
Leader of Opposition Bajwa also condemned the AAP government for not immediately arresting Bhullar.
The family of Randhawa told reporters in Amritsar that they will not allow a post-mortem examination and cremation until Bhullar is arrested.
The FIR was registered on a complaint by Randhawa's wife, Upinder Kaur, at the Ranjit Avenue Police Station in Amritsar on Saturday night, shortly after Bhullar tendered his resignation from the state cabinet.
Earlier that day, a video surfaced on social media in which Randhawa, who was also holding the additional charge of Patti, was purportedly heard saying that he had consumed Celphos and accused the transport minister of harassment.
"My friend has consumed Celphos because of the fear of minister Laljit Bhullar. I will not survive now," Randhawa said in the clip.
Bhullar, the MLA from Patti in Tarn Taran, rejected the allegations against him as baseless.