Sexual exploitation charges on minister: SAD seeks probe against Punjab govt for 'intimidating victim
Darpan News Desk IANS, 13 Jun, 2023 11:29 AM
Chandigarh, June 13 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Tuesday urged Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit to order an inquiry against the Punjab government and others who had intimidated the victim who had accused Cabinet minister Lalchand Kataruchak of sexually exploiting him and forced him to retract his statement.
In a statement here, Majithia said while he had earlier requested the Governor and UT Administrator to order Chandigarh Police to register a case against Kataruchak, now it had become pertinent to probe the sequence of events whereby the victim was forced to withdraw his accusations against the minister.
"It seems Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's earlier statement that all SITs were 'besitte' (without any meaning) was true. It is now clear the SIT was formed to give a clean chit to the minister and that it also caused the victim to retract his allegations."
Urging the Governor to act to save values in civil society, Majithia said "it is shocking that a predator has been given a clean chit by the state. This puts civil society to risk."
Besides urging the Governor to take appropriate steps to ensure justice for the Dalit youth who had been sexually exploited on the promise of a job, he also urged all political parties to unite on this issue and boycott and protest against the minister.
Asserting that the Chief Minister's love for Kataruchak had come in the way of taking action against him, Majithia said it was condemnable that that the Chief Minister had not sacked Kataruchak despite specific advise to do so by the constitutional head of the state.
Majithia also condemned collapse of law and order in the state, asserting recent Rs 8 crore heist in Ludhiana, murder of a jeweller in Moga and dacoity in Amritsar proved the Chief Minister had totally failed as Home Minister.
A spokesperson for the Vigilance Bureau said during the investigation of a complaint, it was found that accused Bikrmajit Singh has misappropriated the money by misusing account IDs, passwords and details of other employees and bank managers during his posting in the bank from 2011 to 2016.
Sidhu's mother Charn Kaur also got his face inked besides 'Shubh Sarwan Putt'. Moosewala, whose real name was Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, 28, was shot dead while driving his vehicle in Mansa district on May 29, a day after his security cover was withdrawn.
The IAF deeply regrets the loss of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved families, it said, adding that a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident. The aircraft had took off from Uttarlai airbase and crashed near Bhimda village.
The videos of LPG cylinders, cars and other vehicles floating on streets amid gushing water are going viral on social media. Officials said that rain started to pour the city on Monday evening which continued till Wednesday leaving residents stranded as streets were water clogged bringing traffic to a standstill.
The vessel, worth around Rs 30 crore, was allgedly being used by by Pankaj Mishra, a close aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. It was being operated illegally without having any permit from Sukargarh Ghat, Sahebganj, the agency said, adding that the vessel was seized during a search operation conducted on Tuesday.
The accused were identified as Mohd Sahil, 28, Mohd Waseem, 18, Mohd Yusuf, 29, and Ashish Chawla, 43. Deputy Commissioner of Police, South, Benita Mary Jaiker said that the matter came to notice when a PCR call was received on July 18, reporting that a courier package having 80 knives was found dropped in C.R. Park area.
