Water cannons used as Punjab Congress members stage demonstration against AAP after villager’s death

Police resorted to using water cannons on Tuesday (September 8, 2026) to disperse Punjab Congress leaders and workers staging a demonstration against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab. Congress members from Punjab gathered here at the party office, from where they attempted to cross the barricades erected by the administration, in an attempt to march toward Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s official residence.

Congress leaders questioned the functioning of the Punjab government, saying that the people who had brought AAP to power in the hope of change are today being forced to take to the streets to fight for their rights as the State government has failed on all fronts.

The Congress leaders demanded immediate dismissal of the Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema over the alleged death of a man, who died by suicide as he was allegedly being pressured by local AAP leaders to apologise for questioning Minister Harpal Singh Cheema over the drug menace in his village recently.

Punjab Pradesh Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said that Gulzar Singh, a resident of Dirba in Sangrur district, in his dying declaration, claimed that Harpal Singh Cheema was responsible for his death. Senior leader and former minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said that the AAP government had made tall claims about eliminating the drug menace from Punjab, but the ground reality is completely different.

“The registration of 8,973 NDPS cases in 2024, along with Punjab ranking first in the country in cases related to drug trafficking, is serious evidence of the government’s failure,” he said. “AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang’s description of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) as a centre of loot raises serious questions about the government’s functioning.

He said that when such allegations are coming from within the ruling party itself, the people of Punjab deserve a transparent account of the entire matter,” he added. Separately, a delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Punjab president Kewal Singh Dhillon, met the Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and submitted a memorandum seeking immediate action in two serious cases related to Sangrur district, one the death of Gulzar Singh and the other the alleged custodial assault of Mohanjit Singh.

Mr. Dhillon said late Gulzar Singh had raised the issue of the alleged open sale of ‘chitta’ (heroin) in his area during a public meeting held by the State Finance Minister. The BJP president said that in a video purportedly recorded before his death, Gulzar Singh had named the Finance Minister and others, whom he allegedly held responsible for the circumstances leading to his death.

The party demanded that the case should not be treated merely as a death by suicide case and that the allegations made by Gulzar Singh should be thoroughly investigated in accordance with law. Mr. Dhillon also brought the alleged custodial assault of Mohanjit Singh to the Governor’s notice, saying Mr.

Mohanjit Singh was detained by the police after he protested against the Punjab Government’s handling of the drug menace during Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s visit to Sangrur. He was later allegedly tortured in custody.

In a post on ‘X’, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said “What can be more significant than a dying person’s final statement? Despite Gulzar Singh explicitly naming Finance Minister Harpal Cheema and several AAP workers, holding them directly responsible for threatening and beating him, the FIR in the case does not mention Harpal Cheema even once!

Why? Who decided to ignore the victim’s dying declaration?” He demanded National Human Rights Commission to take cognisance of the matter. A father, watching his family being destroyed as his son battled drug addiction, raised his voice and questioned @HarpalCheemaMLAHe was subjected to such immense harassment and pressure that he ultimately attempted suicide.

He held Harpal Cheema and the village Sarpanch… pic.twitter.com/sguCBgvo6w (Those in distress can dial Tele MANAS helpline at 14416)