Punjab villager death: Congress leaders stage demonstration against Minister Harpal Cheema

Sachin Pilot and LoP Partap Bajwa were among those detained as police resorted to water cannons during the protest demanding an independent probe into the incident

Updated - September 16, 2026 02:37 am IST - Chandigarh

Congress AICC general secretary in-charge of Punjab Sachin Pilot, MP Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and other Congress leaders stage a protest demanding the removal of Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, on September 16, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI

Punjab Congress members on Tuesday (September 15, 2026) led a demonstration in Chandigarh against the State’s Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema during a protest to demand the removal of Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema after a Dalit man allegedly took his life.

The police resorted to water cannons to disperse the agitating protesters, while Congress AICC general secretary in-charge of Punjab Sachin Pilot, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and other party leaders were detained.

Congress leaders and workers from Punjab assembled at the party office, from where they tried to breach the barricades put up by the administration in a bid to march to Mr. Cheema’s official residence. Police dispersed the protesters using water cannons.

Gulzar Singh, who hailed from Dirba in Sangrur district, died by suicide on September 7. . His family and the Opposition has alleged that he was harassed and subjected to casteist slurs for questioning Mr. Cheema about the supply of drugs in his area at an event in Dirba the day before.

The police registered a case under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and have booked five people under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

A purported video of Singh's last moments surfaced in which he spoke about questioning Mr. Cheema, prompting opposition parties to demand the resignations of the Finance Minister and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Addressing protesters outside the Punjab Congress headquarters, Mr. Pilot, who led the demonstration, lashed out at the AAP government over Singh's death. “The Congress had nothing personal against the Finance Minister, but doesn’t the law demand registration of an FIR followed by a detailed probe when a person has mentioned the minister’s name in his dying declaration,” he quipped, addressing the gathering.

Mr. Pilot said that Gulzar Singh’s death was reflective of what was happening in Punjab much against the claims made by the AAP. “The situation is such that a poor Dalit had to pay with his life just because he raised a question about the free availability of drugs to which his son had fallen a victim,” he alleged.

This is Mr. Pilot's first visit to Punjab since being appointed as the general secretary in-charge of the state.

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#WATCH | Chandigarh: On the death of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur, Punjab Congress chief & MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring says, "...Today, the entire Congress party, under the leadership of Sachin Pilot, has held a march. We demand that Harpal Cheema resign, that an FIR be registered… pic.twitter.com/O4IYO0XpsS— ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2026

Published - September 15, 2026 04:39 pm IST

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