Punjab man attempts suicide, alleges police bribe demand after car fire

He needed it to file an insurance claim, and Jobanpreet stated that he had been visiting the police station for the past 17 days. He alleged that the officer asked for a bribe to provide the diary report. He also alleged that Station House Officer Manjeet Singh had the report ready and was to provide it on Thursday morning, but the officer demanding the bribe threatened to tell the insurance company’s surveyor that the car was damaged in a deliberate fire.

Jobanpreet further alleged that a revenue officer took Rs 5 lakh from his family in connection with a land transfer issue in Balian village, Dhuri, in the adjoining Sangrur district.  concerning their land in Balian village, Dhuri, in the adjoining Sangrur district.

Reacting to the incident, Congress MP from Gurdaspur, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, targeted the Punjab government and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

“Take a look at the reality in the constituency of the Chief Minister who calls himself a ‘staunchly honest’ leader,” Randhawa said in a statement. He alleged that the incident reflected the government’s failure to deliver justice to people approaching the administration.

Earlier suicide attempts

The incident occurred days after two other alleged suicide attempts. On September 20, Jagseer Singh alias Jagga Singh, from Namol village in Sangrur, allegedly tried to end his life outside the mini secretariat in Sangrur. He accused the police of failing to act on his complaints against alleged drug suppliers and claimed that the village sarpanch had harassed and assaulted him.

Jagga Singh is reportedly stable. However, the police later said that nine FIRs are pending against him, including cases under the excise and narcotics laws, and rape charges.

Earlier, on September 7, agricultural labourer Gulzar Singh, a resident of Toor Banzara village in the Dirba area of the Sangrur district, allegedly attempted suicide, a day after he publicly questioned Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the availability of drugs in his village during a meeting at the village gurdwara. Gulzar’s family alleged that members of the village panchayat subsequently threatened him. Despite receiving treatment, he later died.