{
  "id": 7861455,
  "title": "Harpal Singh Cheema breaks silence on Dalit labourer’s death, says Opposition ‘conspiring to frame’ him",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/harpal-singh-cheema-breaks-silence-on-dalit-labourers-death-says",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T20:00:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/harpal-singh-cheema-breaks-silence-on-dalit-labourers-death-10881244/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema defended himself against allegations of being involved in the death of a Dalit laborer, Gulzar Singh, on Wednesday. Cheema accused the Opposition parties of attempting to \"frame\" him, stating that he possesses sufficient evidence to refute the claims. He requested that the investigation be concluded before he could respond to each leader individually. Meanwhile, BJP MP Tarun Chugh visited the grieving family in Sangrur, demanding a CBI probe into Gulzar's death and stating that he would raise the issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Chugh also expressed concerns over the family's claims of harassment and intimidation, urging them to provide a detailed account of these incidents for submission to the Home Minister. Cheema refuted the allegations of intimidation, asserting that the family's initial statement was already widely known. The BJP has proposed a series of \"Nasha Mukt yatras\" to address the drug problem in Punjab, while Cheema criticized the opposition's approach and suggested that they should focus on drug smuggling from neighboring states instead.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}