Gulzar Singh cremation row: Sons allege forced cremation, refuse bhog until justice
PTC Web Desk: In a major development in the Gulzar Singh death case, the deceased's three sons have come forward with a fresh statement accusing the Punjab administration of denying their father a dignified farewell.
Gulzar Singh, a 46-year-old daily wage worker from Dirba in Sangrur district, died on Monday night after allegedly consuming a poisonous substance, a day after he publicly confronted Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema over the unchecked sale of "chitta" (synthetic drugs) during the minister's visit to Toor Banjara village.
Gulzar Singh had told the minister that his own son was battling addiction and that drugs were being openly sold in the area despite the government's claims of a crackdown.
According to the family, Gulzar Singh was later allegedly pressured by panchayat members, including sarpanch, to apologise before a village panchayat over the incident, a humiliation he could not bear and consumed poison. Before he died, he recorded a video naming Punjab Cabinet minister Harpal Cheema, the village sarpanch and a few others as responsible for pushing him to this step.
The Sangrur police have since registered an FIR against five persons, including panchayat members, under charges of abetment to suicide and relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
In a fresh statement, his three sons have alleged that police and administration officials effectively forced them into performing the cremation under heavy security deployment, without letting them see their father's face one last time. In their fresh statement, the family says the demands they had originally placed before agreeing to the cremation have still not been fulfilled and they will now neither perform the "bhog" ceremony nor collect the ashes until they get justice.
The case has already snowballed into a full-blown political controversy. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Pawan Khera and Punjab LoP Partap Singh Bajwa have all slammed the Bhagwant Mann government, with Khera comparing the hasty cremation to the 2020 Hathras case in Uttar Pradesh. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has also sought a report from Punjab authorities on the matter.
Also Read | Elderly man Gulzar Singh dies at Ludhiana's DMC after consuming poisonous substance, blames Harpal Cheema, village sarpanch for death
- PTC NEWS
