Punjab BJP demands justice for Dalit youth Sanamdeep Singh, alleges police cremated body without family consent
Synopsis
Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon has alleged that police cremated the body of 23-year-old Dalit youth Sanamdeep Singh — who died by suicide on 26 September in Sangrur — without his family's consent, and that his mother was taken away by police. The charges, levelled alongside the victim's own family members, put the AAP government under direct political pressure on Dalit rights.
Key Takeaways
Sanamdeep Singh , a 23-year-old Dalit youth from Kanoi village, Sangrur district , died by suicide on 26 September .
The Punjab BJP alleges that police cremated his body without the consent or presence of family members.
Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon alleged the victim's mother was taken away by police, reportedly under pressure from AAP minister Aman Arora .
The party has demanded a thorough police investigation and the immediate return of the victim's mother to her family.
BJP held the press conference in Chandigarh on 2 October 2026 , alongside the victim's brother, father, and cousin.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab on Friday, 2 October 2026, demanded justice for the family of Sanamdeep Singh, a 23-year-old Dalit youth from Kanoi village in Sangrur district, who died by suicide on 26 September. The party alleged that the Punjab Police cremated the body without the consent or presence of family members — a charge that, if verified, would represent a serious violation of the family's rights.
BJP's Allegations at the Press Conference
Addressing the media in Chandigarh, alongside members of the victim's family, Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon alleged that the incident exposed a deteriorating law-and-order situation under the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. State BJP media head Vineet Joshi and Sangrur district BJP president Daman Bajwa were also present at the press conference.
Members of the affected family — including Sanamdeep's brother Ravi Singh, father Paramjeet Singh, and cousin Vikramjeet Singh — shared their account of the events, lending personal testimony to the BJP's allegations.
What the Family and BJP Claim Happened
Dhillon alleged that the police cremated Sanamdeep Singh's body in the absence of his family and without their consent. He further alleged that the victim's mother had been taken away by the police, and claimed that personnel were acting under pressure from AAP minister Aman Arora, whom he described as being close to the local village sarpanch. The BJP has demanded information on the whereabouts of the victim's mother and called for her immediate reunion with the family.
'Punjab is presently going through a very difficult situation. We are receiving regular complaints of atrocities and discrimination against Dalits under the AAP government,' Dhillon said. He also noted that despite Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann himself belonging to Sangrur district, such incidents continued to be reported from the region.
Political Context and Broader Pattern
The BJP's press conference is the latest in a series of opposition moves targeting the AAP government's record on Dalit rights in Punjab. Critics argue that the state, which has a substantial Scheduled Caste population — the highest proportion of any state in India — has seen rising tensions around land rights, caste discrimination, and police conduct in rural areas. This comes amid ongoing political rivalry between the BJP and AAP ahead of future electoral cycles in the state.
Notably, allegations of police high-handedness in Dalit-related cases in Punjab are not new; human rights groups have previously flagged similar concerns about the cremation of deceased persons without family consent in contested circumstances.
BJP's Demands
The party has urged senior police authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sanamdeep Singh's death and the subsequent cremation. Dhillon alleged that the Punjab government had 'turned a blind eye' to the matter and called on the administration to immediately address the family's grievances. Neither the Punjab Police nor the AAP government had issued an official response to these allegations at the time of the press conference, according to available reports.
The case is likely to intensify political pressure on the Bhagwant Mann-led government, with the BJP signalling it intends to continue pressing the matter in the public domain.
Point of View
But the underlying allegations — police cremating a body without family consent and detaining a grieving mother — are serious enough to warrant independent scrutiny regardless of who raises them. Punjab has India's highest proportion of Scheduled Caste residents, yet institutional accountability in Dalit-related cases has remained a persistent blind spot across multiple governments. The AAP's silence at the time of the conference is notable; a swift, transparent response from the police or the state government would be the minimum accountability standard. If the allegations are substantiated, they point to a systemic problem that no political party in Punjab has fully resolved.
NationPress
2 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Sanamdeep Singh and what happened to him?
Sanamdeep Singh was a 23-year-old Dalit youth from Kanoi village in Sangrur district, Punjab, who died by suicide on 26 September 2026. His death triggered a political controversy after his family alleged serious misconduct in the aftermath, including claims that police cremated his body without their consent.
What has the Punjab BJP alleged about the police's conduct?
The BJP has alleged that the Punjab Police cremated Sanamdeep Singh's body without the consent or presence of his family members, and that his mother was taken away by police. BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon also claimed that police acted under pressure from AAP minister Aman Arora, who is reportedly close to the local village sarpanch.
What is the BJP demanding from the Punjab government?
The BJP has demanded a thorough investigation by senior police authorities into both the death and the alleged forcible cremation. It has also demanded that the victim's mother be located and reunited with her family, and called on the AAP government to stop what it described as turning 'a blind eye' to Dalit rights violations.
Has the AAP government or Punjab Police responded to these allegations?
According to available reports, neither the Punjab Police nor the AAP government had issued an official public response to the BJP's allegations at the time of the press conference on 2 October 2026.
Why is Sangrur politically significant in this case?
Sangrur district is the home constituency of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The BJP has specifically highlighted this, arguing that the continuation of such incidents in the CM's own district underscores the failure of the AAP government's law-and-order and Dalit welfare commitments.
