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.
Sharing a picture of a recent meeting, he said: "Sharing a picture from my most recent meeting with my dear friend, Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. Always passionate about strengthening India-Japan ties, he had just taken over as the Chairman of the Japan-India Association."
Mann, 48, divorced his first wife Inderpreet Kaur in 2015. He has two children from that marriage -- daughter Seerat Kaur Mann (21) and son Dilshan Singh Mann (17), who attended Mann's swearing-in ceremony on March 16. The Chief Minister made a surprise wedding announcement a day earlier. It is believed to be an arranged marriage.
Arora, who has been elected for the second consecutive time as the MLA from Sunam, expressed gratitude towards the party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and assured that he would discharge the responsibility assigned to him with honesty and dedication.
The motive behind the murder was not yet clear, according to the police. Police said, the man went to a local market for shopping along with his family. He was shot dead when he was on his way back home.
In his previous marriage to Inderpreet Kaur, which ended in a divorce in 2016, Mann has two children -- son Dilshan and daughter Seerat -- who are currently staying in the US with their mother. Both children had attended Mann's swearing-in ceremony at Khatkar Kalan on March 16.
A spokesman for the Chief Minister's office said all domestic consumers in the state would be eligible to get zero bills if their consumption is up to 600 units in every billing cycle. This will give a big reprieve to the domestic consumers who have to hitherto shell out huge money every month in the form of power tariff.
