Chandigarh: With Punjab assembly elections expected to be held early next year, the Opposition has turned the heat on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, launching a renewed attack on his wife Dr Gurpreet Kaur over allegations of corruption.
At the ‘Punjab Bachao’ rally in Nihal Singh Wala, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal, taking a swipe at the CM’s wife, said he had seen posters on village walls with a QR code for payments. Dr Gurpreet Kaur is facing allegations that one of her close relatives, Amardeep Grewal, demanded Rs 5 crore to help a rape accused, Gurinder Singh alias Guri Chahal, get a clean chit in the case.
Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi too had targeted Dr Gurpreet Kaur at a rally in Chandigarh on Tuesday. “Rapists have been allowed to go scot-free. Bhagwant Mann, your wife has taken 5-5 crore,” said Channi.
Kaur has vehemently denied any involvement in the rape case, saying the allegations were part of a defamation campaign by the Opposition after it realised that it could not attack the chief minister on other issues.
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— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) September 16, 2026
“I have never been scared of anything. And these are false allegations which are completely baseless and frivolous. Those who are levelling these allegations against me should be ready with the proof or they will have to face legal consequences,” she told the media last month when these allegations first surfaced.
ThePrint reached out to Dr Gurpreet Mann through the chief minister’s residence by phone, but she could not be reached despite repeated attempts. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Mock posters
In what appeared to be a mock poster campaign ahead of polls, the Akali Dal in a statement Wednesday claimed that the posters were seen in several villages across Punjab, specifically in SAS Nagar (Mohali), Ludhiana, Patiala, Ferozepur, Kotkapura, Moga and Pathankot at multiple neighbourhoods, colleges, universities and market hotspots.
It further alleged that when the QR code on the poster is scanned, a purported audio recording of a conversation between Dr Gurpreet Kaur’s relative, Amardeep Grewal, and a friend of the rape accused, Simranjit Singh Hundal, plays.
The purported audio was also made public by Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia during a press conference early this month.
In the recording, one person is heard assuring another person that he would help sort out the five cases or complaints against his friend. In the conversation, the two also appear to discuss arranging a rate for the help being offered.
Majithia had alleged that following the Rs 5 crore “deal”, the police had sought closure of the rape cases against Chahal. Majithia had demanded a CBI probe into the allegations.
Hundal had, through a video message issued earlier this month, said he had never met the chief minister’s wife nor was he involved in any such deal.
“This is all a result of dirty politics. If politicians have to indulge in such kind of politics, then they should not bring in wives and daughters,” he said, adding that he had nothing to do with this case and if anyone tried to rope him in, he would take legal recourse.
The National Human Rights Commission had on 22 August issued a notice to the Punjab chief secretary and Director General of Police over an alleged demand of Rs 5 crore for the suppression of a rape case, directing them to get the allegations probed and submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) within two weeks for the Commission’s perusal.
In the notice, the NHRC said that it had received a complaint from the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) saying that a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Ranjit Singh, had publicly alleged that a “demand of Rs 5 crore was made in connection with the rape case, allegedly involving the wife of the chief minister of Punjab”.
Retired Justice Ranjit Singh, who heads the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO), a non-government organisation, held a press conference in Chandigarh last month highlighting the matter.
He told mediapersons that a petition had been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by the father of a rape victim in which he had alleged that his daughter’s case registered in Amritsar was not being investigated satisfactorily by the Punjab Police and should be transferred to the CBI.
Dr Gurpreet Kaur subsequently filed a legal suit against Justice Ranjit Singh, Bikram Singh Majithia and Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira.
All three were issued legal notices demanding an apology for spreading misinformation against her. However, all three have publicly declared that they will defend their statements in court along with adequate proof.
The case
On 30 June, a 55-year-old resident of Amritsar filed a petition in the high court alleging that his daughter was abducted and raped by Gurinder Singh alias Guri Chahal, who is a resident of Mohali.
The father added that the accused had also promised to marry his daughter. He said an FIR was registered on 29 April and his daughter was found on 1 May. He further alleged that the accused had access to her private pictures and was also blackmailing her.
His court petition stated that although the accused was arrested on 13 May, the police did not conduct a fair and just enquiry, as a result of which the accused was let off from jail. Apart from the accused Chahal, he also listed Hundal and Grewal as respondents.
In the petition, the girl’s father said the respondents were pressuring the Amritsar police to hush up the matter. He added that Chahal had told the victim that he was close to some gangster and also showed her the weapons that he carried.
The father also claimed that Hundal had on 9 June moved a petition on Chahal’s behalf in the High Court alleging that Grewal—who claimed to be a relative of the CM’s wife—was demanding crores on her behalf to hush up false cases of rape against Chahal.
Hundal’s petition, a copy of which is attached with the petition filed by the girl’s father, sought protection of life and liberty from the court and preservation of electronic material relating to “serious allegations of extortion, criminal intimidation, abuse of political influence and official machinery”.
Hundal alleged that since he was handling Chahal’s cases legally, he was approached by Grewal demanding crores to get cases against Chahal settled, citing his closeness to the CM. With his petition, Hundal attached transcripts of two alleged phone conversations with Grewal related to Chahal’s cases.
Hundal had subsequently withdrawn this petition from the high court.
However, disposing of the petition filed by the rape victim’s father, Justice Mandeep Pannu on 20 July ordered that the investigation into the case be shifted from the Amritsar police to the Special DGP Women.
“The Special Director General of Police shall nominate a senior Gazetted Police Officer, who has not been associated with the investigation of the present case at any stage earlier, to conduct the investigation under her overall supervision,” reads the order, a copy of which is with ThePrint.
On 24 August, two days after the NHRC issued notice to the Punjab government, rape accused Chahal moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking protection in the case.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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