Former Punjab Transport Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Laljit Singh Bhullar was arrested on Monday in connection with the alleged abetment of the suicide of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, District Manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) in Amritsar.

Bhullar, who resigned from the state cabinet just two days earlier on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s directive, was taken into custody from Mandi Gobindgarh in Fatehgarh Sahib district.

His personal assistant, Dilbagh Singh, was also arrested.

The former minister is expected to be produced before a court in Amritsar on Tuesday.

The case stems from the suicide of Randhawa, who died by consuming a poisonous substance on March 21.

In a video recorded before his death that later went viral, Randhawa accused Bhullar of harassment and exerting pressure to award a tender to an associate linked to the minister.

The deceased’s wife, Upinder Kaur, lodged a complaint at Amritsar’s Ranjit Avenue police station, leading to the registration of an FIR on Saturday night.

The three accused, Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and Dilbagh Singh, have been booked under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

In a social media post shortly before his arrest, Bhullar maintained his innocence and described the development as a voluntary surrender.

“I have not run away… Believing in truth and justice, I myself am surrendering at Mandi Gobindgarh,” he wrote.

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar confirmed the arrest and said investigations are ongoing.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had earlier stated that “no one is above the law” while accepting Bhullar’s resignation.

The development has triggered sharp reactions from opposition parties.

BJP Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders demanded a CBI probe, describing the incident as “cold-blooded” and questioning the delay in action.

Congress and SAD workers held protests across the state, with some leaders detained by police on Sunday.

Families of the deceased had refused to allow the last rites until the arrest was made.

Bhullar, the sitting MLA from Patti in Tarn Taran district since 2022, had handled the Transport, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development portfolios in the Mann government.

A first-time legislator from an agricultural background, he rose through the ranks as an AAP volunteer.

The matter remains under active investigation.

Police sources indicated that further details, including possible transfer of the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), could emerge after Bhullar’s court appearance on Tuesday.