About a fortnight after the Punjab Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) — probing the sexual misconduct complaint against Punjab Cabinet Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak — informed the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) that the complainant has withdrawn the complaint, the national SC panel has asked Punjab’s top officials — Chief Secretary, Director General of Police (DGP), and the SIT head to appear in person on July 31 at its headquarters in New Delhi.

The Commission, on the orders of its chairman Vijay Sampla, asked the Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police, and the SIT head Deputy Inspector General, Amritsar Border Range, Narinder Bhargava, to appear before the Commission at 11 am on July 31 in New Delhi. The directions came after the SIT head had submitted an action taken report to the Commission on June 12.

The Commission, in its orders, has asked the investigating officer of the case to attend the hearing. The Commission also asked the officials to bring an up-to-date action taken report and all other relevant documents including the relevant files, case diaries, and others.

The commission further said that the petitioner may also be asked to be present in the Commission on the day of the hearing.

Going into the background of the matter, the Gurdaspur-based “victim”, who identified himself as Keshav Kumar, had filed a complaint with the national SC panel against Kataruchak in May, accusing the Minister of sexual misconduct, and sexually harassing and exploiting him on the promise of a government job. In fact, Keshav had “on camera” narrated the entire sequence of events, highlighting how the Minister had forced him into a relationship on the pretext of giving him a job.

The NCSC had, till date, issued three notices to the State Government asking the Chief Secretary and the DGP to submit the action taken report in the matter.

On the other hand, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit — who had also received a complaint by the Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira demanding forensic examination of the videos — purported to be of Kataruchak and Keshav — had also sought written three letters to the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asking for action taken in the matter while also furnishing the forensic report of the videos.

Targeting the AAP-led State Government over the issue, the opposition parties have been accusing AAP and the Chief Minister of shielding the “tainted Minister”, and being “anti-Dalit”.

In the latest developments, the “victim” Keshav had withdrawn the complaint in his recent appearance before the SIT. The “victim” had reportedly told the SIT, headed by DIG Border Range Amritsar Narinder Bhargava, that he had lost his mobile phone, and later someone showed his “doctored video” having him and the Minister in it.

Informing the national SC panel about the same, the SIT, on June 12, had submitted that the complainant has withdrawn the complaint against Kataruchak.

The SIT had also submitted that it did not make out a case in the first place as Keshav was not minor at the time Kataruchak had an alleged sexual relationship with him, and both the complainant and the accused were Scheduled Castes and the case did not fall within the purview of the SC Commission.