After remaining ‘underground’ for three days after announcing to surrender himself, former Akali Minister Sucha Singh langah on Monday dramatically gave in at the Chandigarh District and Sessions Court — which, in turn, asked the rape-accused to go to Gurdaspur where the case was registered.
langah, who had been on the run since the case was lodged against him by the Gurdaspur Police, appeared before the court of the duty magistrate here to surrender himself. However, Judge Hirdejeet Singh declined to accept langah’s plea. Since the complex was closed due to Monday being a national holiday on account of Gandhi Jayanti, he appeared before the Duty Magistrate.
Interestingly, the Punjab Police, which had been claiming that it was conducting raids across Punjab for the past three days, did not reach the Chandigarh court complex to arrest langah even though he remained there for a few hours.
“The court has rejected the application for surrender,” langah’s counsel Harpreet Singh Brar said. The counsel said his client appeared before the court in Chandigarh to surrender as there was an apprehension of “danger from the state machinery” in Punjab.
“Two cases, including rape, have been filed against langah by the Punjab Police in just last 15 days,” the counsel alleged.
Talking to reporters outside the court, langah dubbed the rape case lodged against him as “false” and alleged that the case had been registered at the behest of a Congress MlA.
“This case was registered to win (Gurdaspur lok Sabha) bypoll...It is a false case and I have complete faith in the judicial system. I will bring out the truth pertaining to this case in the court,” he claimed.
“I want to appeal to my workers to help the BJP candidate and ensure his victory in the bypoll. I’m ready for any sacrifice and I have complete faith in the court,” he said.
langah, who remained in the court complex for about an hour, claimed that the video clip was fake. A day before, a video had gone viral on social media purportedly showing langah in a compromising position. He has been on the run even as the Punjab Police was conducted raids to trace him.
langah was booked by police on September 28 after a a police complaint lodged alleging the Akali leader had been raping her repeatedly since 2009.
The police had booked langah on charges of rape, extortion, cheating and criminal intimidation. The victim had also given a video clip in pen drive to the police to support her accusations.
Meanwhile, Gurdaspur SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar on Monday said he had come to know about langah’s appearance before Chandigarh court and he was getting this information verified from the Mohali Police. “We are carrying out raids to nab him,” SSP further said.
On the viral video, the SSP said he had written to Facebook and Youtube, asking them how it went viral. “We are also taking the help of cyber crime cell to trace the source from where the video was uploaded online,” Bhullar said.
langah had claimed the complaint was a “classic example of political vendetta” as it was lodged just ahead of the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency bypoll.
The former minister had said he would surrender before court on September 30 but he did not do so.
Also as SAD core committee member, langah on Friday had announced his resignation from all party posts and from the membership of the SGPC. “I have full faith in the judiciary. Therefore, I am submitting to the process of law by surrendering in the court. I have firm belief that truth will come out and justice will be done,” he had said.
The SAD had accepted langah’s resignation from all party posts. He was Punjab’s minister for agriculture from 2007 to 2012.
