Punjab Minister Bhullar resigns from Cabinet as Opposition demands murder case, CBI probe

After his name surfaced in connection with a case of death of state warehousing corporation official, who died by suicide, Punjab’s Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar resigned from the Aam Aadm Party (AAP) government on Saturday (March 21, 2026), even as the Opposition parties stepped up their ante against the government, demanding the Minister be booked for murder and the case be handed over to central agency for probe.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said a probe has been ordered in the matter and appropriate action will follow. “The Minister was asked to step down for the sake of a fair investigation,” he said, responding to a query at a press conference.

A purported video linked to the alleged suicide of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, district manager of the Punjab Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, showed Randhawa accusing Mr. Laljit Singh Bhullar, the AAP Minister, of inflicting harassment by pressurising him to award a tender to the Minister’s associate, before consuming what appeared to be a poisonous substance.

The Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party corneried the AAP government over the issue.

Leader of Opposition, Congress party’s Partap Singh Bajwa said, “The tragic death of an officer has once again laid bare the disturbing state of law and order under Bhagwant Mann’s government. When those entrusted to uphold the law appear to act with impunity, it raises a serious question: what sense of security is left for ordinary Punjabis?” He demanded that an FIR under murder charges should be registered against Mr Bhullar he should be arrested immediately. “The case should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation,” he added.

BJP State president Sunil Jakhar said the Chief Minister no longer had any moral ground to continue in power. “Earlier, people in Punjab were losing their lives for failing to pay ransom and were facing ‘gangster raj’, but now even government officials were being driven to take their own lives for allegedly failing to meet the demands of ministers,” he alleged.

Demanding immediate registration of the police case and the arrest of the minister, Mr. Jakhar expressed surprise at the Chief Minister’s statement that the inquiry would be handed over to the Chief Secretary, questioning since when Chief Secretaries had begun investigating cases of murder.

Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), said, “I want to ask Bhagwant Mann, will the resignation of your minister Laljit Bhullar bring Punjab State Warehousing Corporation District Manager Gagandeep Singh Randhawa back to his grieving family? The officer died because he endured severe physical and mental harassment at the hands of the Minister. He was also assaulted at the Minister’s residence.”

“The Minister must be booked for murder, and the investigation should be immediately transferred to the CBI for a fair, impartial probe,” he added.