Former Punjab minister Bhullar booked: 500-page challan details assault, blackmail allegations
Police tell court victim was assaulted, coerced to cancel FCI tender; supplementary challan likely over missing DVR, weapon
Bhullar’s father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and personal assistant Dilbagh Singh have also been booked in the case, but both remain unarrested. (File Photo) The Amritsar police on Wednesday filed a challan in an Amritsar court against former Punjab minister and Patti MLA Laljit Singh Bhullar. The challan presents what police described as substantial evidence of assault, coercion and blackmail of victim Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, a district manager with the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation. The challan includes 50 witnesses and around 500 pages of documents.
According to the challan, the police investigation has attempted to establish that on March 13, 2026, Bhullar unofficially and illegally summoned Gagandeep Singh to his residence, physically assaulted him and inflicted a head injury. Randhawa allegedly died by suicide on March 21 after consuming celphos. Before taking the extreme step, he recorded a video in which he reportedly named Bhullar.
The same night as the alleged assault, Gagandeep sought treatment at Parvati Hospital in Amritsar. The medical record has now become key evidence in the case.
According to the challan, after the assault, Bhullar allegedly forced Gagandeep to record a video and sent it to the Managing Director of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation. Gagandeep was then allegedly pressured to cancel an FCI tender, a task he was not authorised to carry out. The tender committee consisted of five members, including two representatives of the Food Corporation of India.
Bhullar’s father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and personal assistant Dilbagh Singh have also been booked in the case, but both remain unarrested. They have been listed as absconding in the challan. In addition, three unidentified persons are yet to be traced and identified.
According to police sources, the DVR hard disk and the weapon allegedly used to strike Gagandeep on the head have not yet been recovered. These are expected to be included in a supplementary challan at a later stage.
The challan also includes statements from several senior officials, including the Managing Director of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation. The Divisional District Attorney reportedly raised objections over the absence of the statement of Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh, to whom Gagandeep had allegedly reported the harassment. Police said the DC’s statement, along with another pending statement of the MD, would be recorded and included in the supplementary challan.
The case, being heard before Chief Judicial Magistrate Sarpreet Kaur, has been listed for further proceedings on May 27.
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