Sexual misconduct charges: National Commission closes case against Minister Kataruchak
New Delhi: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has closed a sexual harassment case against Punjab Food and Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak. This action of the National Commission has brought relief to Cabinet Minister Kataruchak.
The complainant, Keshav Kumar, had sent a letter to the National Commission on July 11 withdrawing the complaint lodged against Kataruchak, following which the commission decided to close the case.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes had sent a letter to Chief Secretary Anurag Verma on August 10, informing him that the case of Keshav Kumar has now been closed. Kumar had complained to the National Commission on May 5, 2023, alleging that he had been sexually abused by cabinet minister Lal Chand Kataruchak since 2013 and had not been able to file a complaint so far out of fear as he was being threatened with false charges.
The National Commission had taken cognisance of the complaint and wrote to the Punjab Police for an inquiry. The Punjab Police had constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Border Range DIG Narinder Bhargava to probe the case. During the investigation, Keshav Kumar had filed an application with the Special Investigation Team that he did not want to take any action on his complaint.