Story perspectives

Police file SC/ST case without naming Finance Minister Cheema

By Drooid · Sep 15, 2026, 4:10 PM UTC · How we work

Center

Police Omit Cheema

Dalit laborer Gulzar Singh died in an alleged suicide on September 7 in Dirba after questioning Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about drug supply.
Police detained Sachin Pilot, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Partap Singh Bajwa during a Sept 15 protest seeking FIR naming Cheema.
Water cannons and barricades blocked the march toward Cheema’s residence.
Police filed an SC/ST case against the sarpanch and husband, omitting Cheema from the FIR.

Right

Effigy Burning Demands

Dalit laborer Gulzar Singh allegedly committed suicide on September 7 in Dirba, Sangrur after questioning Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about drug supply.
The protest is framed as a coordinated Congress march showing party resolve before the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
Police deployed water cannons and barricades to block protesters from reaching Harpal Cheema’s residence.
Protesters burned Cheema’s effigy and gave the DGP a memorandum demanding arrest and an FIR.

Blindspot

Police registered a case against the village sarpanch, her husband and others for abetment to suicide under the SC/ST Act, but did not name Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema in the FIR.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Center-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Right-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

The Mandal Commission, set up in 1979, recommended a 27 % reservation for OBCs; Prime Minister V. P. Singh announced the quota in August 1990 and the Supreme Court upheld it on 16 November 1992, triggering nationwide protests. Decades later, Punjab regional politicians repeatedly invoke the 1989 SC/ST Act, shaping strategies for the upcoming 2027 state elections.

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Police Omit Cheema

Dalit laborer Gulzar Singh died in an alleged suicide on September 7 in Dirba after questioning Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about drug supply.
Police detained Sachin Pilot, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Partap Singh Bajwa during a Sept 15 protest seeking FIR naming Cheema.
Water cannons and barricades blocked the march toward Cheema’s residence.
Police filed an SC/ST case against the sarpanch and husband, omitting Cheema from the FIR.

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