‘Govt cremated body forcibly’: Gulzar Singh’s family alleges last rites conducted without consent | India News
NEW DELHI: The family of Gulzar Singh, a Dalit labourer from Punjab’s Sangrur district who died by suicide after allegedly facing harassment, has accused the “government of forcibly cremating his body without their consent.“Gulzar’s son Lakhwinder Singh alleged that the family was not allowed to see his father’s face before the last rites and that they did not receive his clothes or other belongings.Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Lakhwinder said, “The govt cremated the body forcibly, without our consent. We should get justice. Cheema sahib should be jailed.”He also alleged that the government had promised the family a job and other assistance but failed to provide them.“The government forcibly carried out the last rites. They told us they would provide a job and other things, but we received nothing. I was in a state of depression. The police pressure was immense; it was the district police. Yes, it happened without our consent. Didn’t even let me see his face. Don’t even get his clothes. I demand justice,” he added.Earlier on Thursday, National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman Kishor Makwana met Gulzar’s family.Gulzar Singh, a 47-year-old member of the Valmiki community from Dirba in Sangrur district, died on Monday night after allegedly consuming poison.His family alleged that he was harassed, intimidated and subjected to caste-based abuse after he questioned Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the drug menace during a public meeting in Toor Banjara village on September 6.A purported video of Gulzar’s final statement shows him raising concerns with Cheema about the availability of ‘chitta’ in the area and saying his own son was also addicted to drugs.According to his family, police and local panchayat members allegedly pressured him to apologise after the incident. They claimed that some people also subjected him to caste-based abuse and asked him to appear before the village panchayat.Gulzar consumed poison around noon on Monday and was taken to hospitals in Sangrur and Patiala before being shifted to DMC Hospital in Ludhiana, where he died later that night.Police registered an FIR against five residents of Toor Banjara — Baljeet Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Vicky Singh, Gona Singh and Baljinder Kaur — under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for abetment to suicide and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.The accused include the village sarpanch and her husband, according to the allegations. The sarpanch’s husband has denied the charges, saying the allegations against the panchayat were baseless.Dirba SHO Gurvinder Singh said further action would be based on medical and investigative findings.The case also triggered a political row in Punjab, with the BJP and Congress demanding action against Cheema and an independent probe.BJP leader Amit Malviya alleged that Gulzar was pressured by local AAP-linked village leaders after questioning Cheema over the drug menace.“Raising the issue of Punjab’s drug menace should not cost a citizen his life. Gulzar Singh, a resident of Toor Banjara village in the Dirba constituency, reportedly questioned AAP Minister Harpal Singh Cheema during his visit about the unchecked sale of “chitta”, saying that his own son was battling addiction and had sold off the family’s belongings. What followed, was pressure and harassment by local AAP-linked village leaders, who demanded that Gulzar Singh apologise for questioning the minister. He refused,” Malviya said.“In a video recorded before consuming poison, Gulzar Singh held four people responsible for his plight, including Harpal Cheema and local village leaders. He later died despite treatment. This is deeply disturbing. A government that cannot tolerate questions on the drug menace and intimidates a citizen for raising them has a serious case to answer. Punjab deserves accountability, not intimidation,” he added.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also attacked the AAP government, demanding that chief minister Bhagwant Mann seek Cheema’s resignation and ensure an independent investigation.“A dangerous pattern is emerging under Punjab’s AAP government – if you question government’s failures, the response will come in the form of threats and torture,” Rahul said.
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“Gulzar Singh ji, from the Dalit community, who had to watch his son fall victim to drugs, asked the Finance Minister just this much: why has the government failed so miserably in stopping the drug trade? For just this, he was tortured and humiliated so much, pressured so intensely to apologize, that he consumed poison,” he said.The government’s job is to answer to the people, not to “trample upon” those who ask questions, he added.The AAP has accused the opposition of “vulture politics” and of trying to politically exploit the family’s grief. AAP media in-charge Baltej Pannu said, “Wherever someone dies by suicide or wherever a dead body is found, they reach there and try to bake political bread over the funeral pyre.”
