Gangster intimidating voters via phone in Dera Baba Nanak: Congress to Election Commission

The terror of jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria is all-pervasive in election-bound Dera Baba Nanak, forcing sitting Gurdaspur Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to write to the Election Commission seeking deployment of paramilitary forces “to ensure gangsters do not rule the roost in the November 20 Assembly bypoll”.

Randhawa’s wife Jatinder Kaur is the Congress candidate. Jaggu, whose native village of Bhagwanpur falls in this seat, is allegedly threatening sarpanches and politicians having substantial vote bank through video calls. Sources say he “orders them to cast their votes in favour of the AAP candidate or be ready to face the music”. He is, at present, incarcerated in Haryana. The development, claim observers, has the potential to snowball into a major controversy.

Randhawa has also asked election observer Anburajan KNN to take cognisance.

“I have informed the EC about the intimidating activities of the Bhagwanpuria gang. However, instead of deploying the paramilitary, the Punjab Police have provided security to Jaggu’s mother Harjit Kaur and his cousin Gagan Bhagwanpuria. I fail to understand why the government is protecting his family,” said Randhawa.

Another Congress leader alleged that the gangster had instilled such fear in the minds of the electorate that none dared to turn down his “orders to vote for the AAP”. Sources said his mother facilitated video calls from her phone and visited people who she thought had influence over the voters, then making them talk to her son.

An official said scores of leaders had received video calls. “Anybody disobeying him is likely to be targeted by his henchmen. And the fact is there is no dearth of his legion of loyalists in the area,” he said.

In the panchayat elections, Jaggu had forced more than a dozen candidates to withdraw their nomination papers. “Nobody had the nerve to negate his telephonic orders. Such was his fear that they would develop cold feet the moment they got a call,” said the official.

Randhawa also took on the BJP-led Haryana Government. “I fail to understand how this hoodlum is able to use a mobile phone from within the prison,” he said.

The SAD has steadfastly been claiming that Bhagwanpuria was close to Randhawa. In December 2019 when Randhawa was the Jails Minister, the Akalis had demanded that his links with the gangster should be probed.

On persistent demands of some Akali leaders, the then Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had ordered an inquiry, which was conducted by the DGP (Intelligence). However, the probe ruled out any links of Randhawa with the gangster. At one time, when Bhagwanpuria was lodged in Patiala jail, there were allegations that he was being given five-star treatment. An inquiry was conducted by a senior officer, which found no truth in the allegations.

Calling the shots

MP Sukhjinder Randhawa, whose wife Jatinder Kaur is the Congress candidate, has alleged jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria is threatening sarpanches via video calls