NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday accused Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, his wife Gurpreet Kaur and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal of allegedly running a corruption and extortion “syndicate” through intermediaries to settle rape cases in the state in exchange for bribes of up to Rs 5 crore.The allegations were levelled by BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, who played purported audio recordings and cited other material at a press conference in New Delhi. The BJP described the alleged arrangement as the Aam Aadmi Party’s “loot model”.The allegations come against the backdrop of a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) inquiry into a complaint alleging that Gurpreet Kaur demanded Rs 5 crore to quash a rape case. On August 21, the NHRC directed the Punjab chief secretary and director general of police to inquire into the allegations and submit an Action Taken Report within two weeks.There was no immediate response from the Aam Aadmi Party to the allegations. However, AAP’s Punjab unit has rejected the charges, with AAP state Women’s Wing president and MLA Amandeep Kaur Arora calling them “baseless”.Addressing reporters, Bhandari alleged that Mann and his wife had used intermediaries across Punjab to broker deals involving criminal cases.“The audio recordings that we are going to play before you, and the evidence that has come before us, point towards the fact that Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann is running a new loot racket and a new corruption racket,” Bhandari said.“In this corruption racket, allegations are that he and his wife, through middlemen, are seeking bribes of up to Rs 5 crore to get legitimate rape cases settled,” he alleged.Bhandari claimed that intermediaries had been deployed across the state on the instructions of Mann and his wife to facilitate the alleged transactions.“The chief minister and the wife of the chief minister have deputed middlemen across Punjab. These middlemen, on the instructions of the chief minister and his wife, have innovated a new model of corruption, which we call the Aam Aadmi Party’s ‘loot model’, in which these middlemen are taking bribes of Rs 5 crore to settle rape cases,” he further alleged.He also sought to link Kejriwal to the alleged arrangement, referring to him as Punjab’s “super CM”.“The middleman is speaking to a relative of the accused and saying that we have also informed ‘CM sahab’ about this and now CM sahab has also become involved,” he alleged.Bhandari questioned whether the chief minister, his wife and Kejriwal were involved in what he described as a broader corruption network.“Does the chief minister and his wife run a syndicate in which they are taking bribes and money to withdraw rape cases?” he said.“Has the chief minister’s office become a syndicate of corruption?” Bhandari asked. “Has the Aam Aadmi Party’s ‘loot model’ now become a model in Punjab where money is being taken for rape cases, just like the corruption and loot model of the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ in Delhi?” he asked.Bhandari also cited the NHRC’s intervention, saying the commission had already sought a report from Punjab authorities.“On August 21, 2026, the national human rights commission, taking cognisance of this matter, has already written a letter to the chief secretary of the Punjab government and the Punjab DGP.”“It has asked to investigate whether the chief minister’s office and the chief minister himself are running a corruption racket in Punjab in which bribes of Rs 5 crore are being offered to withdraw cases of rape victims,” Bhandari said.The controversy has also prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal to seek a separate probe. A high-level SAD delegation led by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Punjab Governor Gulab Singh Kataria in Chandigarh on Thursday and demanded a CBI inquiry into alleged corruption in the Chief Minister’s Office and alleged attempts to protect a rape accused.The delegation submitted a 300-page dossier along with other documents and evidence to the Governor in support of its allegations.The SAD demand followed the NHRC notice issued last month in connection with allegations that Rs 5 crore was demanded and accepted to shield an accused in a rape case.
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Addressing reporters after meeting the Governor, Badal alleged that the state government was attempting to protect a rape accused.“On one side is the rapist and those protecting him, and on the other side are those helpless girls. I want to see which side the media takes. If you do not show our press conference or highlight this issue, it means you are under pressure of the Punjab government and supporting the rapist. I hope the media will stand with those helpless girls,” Badal said.The allegations and counter-allegations come as the NHRC inquiry into the complaint remains underway, with Punjab authorities required to submit an Action Taken Report to the commission.
