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.
Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Singh Yadav said that the complainant Harpreet Singh, who is running his jewellry shop at the ground floor of his residence in Delhi's Farsh Bazaar area, reported on April 17 that six individuals including one woman entered his shop, introducing themselves as CBI officials.
Additional Chief Secretary A. Venu Prasad, Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) Chairman H.S. Hanspal and head of Indo-German Energy Programme GIZ, Winfried Damm, also launched decision support tool and Amritsar smart city portal and renewable purchase obligations (RPO) portal for the state.
The two leaders will discuss ways to further expand the educational exchanges and people-to-people ties between India and the US, as well as the work together to confront common challenges from climate change, to workforce development and health security, it said.
There are no casualties in the incident, the work has been stopped, the causes are being checked and the crash site vicinity has been cordoned off, said the official of Ghoti Police Station, declining to be quoted.
Poonawala pleaded not guilty of Walker's murder and the matter has now been set for trial and has been listed for recording of prosecution evidence on June 1. A charge sheet running over 6,000 pages was filed in the case.
According to police, a group of masked robbers infiltrated the residence of the victim, who is involved in the paper trading business and is the son of a contractor, in Ashok Vihar early Saturday morning by cutting through window grills.
