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 decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office said the new policy would be applicable for five years from October 17, 2022 and will spur industrial development and generate more employment opportunities.
The group has lost $100 billion since the Hindenberg report came out. All the Pradesh Congress Committees have been requested to issue the necessary instructions to the District Congress Committees so that apart from senior leaders, party functionaries and workers, mobilisation from the BCC, Panchayat and Booth level is ensured in full measure.
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SKM said that Union Budget 2023 is silent on the status of minimum support price (MSP) on crops as per recommendation of M.S. Swaminathan Commission and what shall be done to ensure that farmers get legal guarantee of MSP.
The accused were identified as Sardar Jagpal Singh, 51, Harjinder Singh Raina, 71 and Sudershan Singh Wazir, 67. Wazir is a cousin of the deceased J&K politician. The 68-year-old Wazir was found murdered in a flat in Delhi's Basai Darapur area in March, 2021.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday arrested an air passenger from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here for possessing 3,360 gram cocaine valued at Rs 33.60 crore. A DRI official said that they got a specific intelligence tip off that an Indian national arriving from Addis Ababa to Mumbai by Ethiopian Airlines flight might be carrying a narcotic substance.
