Former Punjab CM Channi told to appear before Mansa court on January 12


Punjab Police on Wednesday summoned former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, asking him to appear before the court of the chief judicial magistrate in Mansa on January 12 in connection with a case registered against him during the assembly elections.

The development came after his visit to assassinated Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala’s parents in Mansa on Tuesday evening.

“The case was registered on the complaint of the Aam Aadmi Party. It’s a false case,” Channi said.

The case was registered against him under Section 188 (disobedience to an order by a public servant, causing obstruction) of the Indian Penal Code in Mansa during the assembly elections.

While addressing a media briefing on Wednesday, Channi said, “On my way to meet Moose Wala’s parents the police stopped me and asked me not to reach Mansa else they will arrest me. But I refused to stop and went to share the family’s sorrow and spent the night with the family, for which I have been summoned now.”

He said, “The government is harassing the family of Sidhu Moose Wala. I would request the government to take Sidhu’s murder case seriously and investigate it and not harass the family.”

The former chief minister shared a photo of his stay at Moose Wala’s house on Tuesday on his Twitter handle and captioned it as, “Spent the night at village Moosa with Sidhu Moosewala’s parents.”

The Congress leader was seen sitting beside the singer’s father in the photo.

The singer had contested the assembly elections on a Congress ticket from Mansa, but had lost to the AAP candidate, Vijay Singla.

During the election campaign, a case was registered against Congress candidates Sidhu Moose Wala and Charanjit Singh Channi for conducting roadshows even after the election campaign time was over.

The former CM went abroad after the Punjab elections.

In April, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Channi for six hours in a money-laundering investigation linked to an alleged sand mining case in the state.

Moose Wala was shot dead on May 29 when he, along with his friend and cousin, was travelling in a jeep at Jawahar Ke village of Mansa. Six shooters waylaid his vehicle and pumped bullets into him.

The incident occurred a day after Punjab Police withdrew his security along with 424 others after a change of government in the state.

Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, who is a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, had claimed he was behind the murder.