BJP alleges Punjab leaders sought bribes to settle rape cases through intermediaries.
Pradeep Bhandari cited purported recordings linking Mann, his wife and Kejriwal.
AAP’s Punjab unit rejected the BJP’s allegations as “baseless”.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday levied serious allegations on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, his wife Gurpreet Kaur and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, accusing them of running an "syndicate" through intermediaries to settle rape cases for Rs 5 crore.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari levelled the allegations at a press conference in New Delhi, where he played purported audio recordings and presented other material that he claimed supported the charges. The party termed the alleged operation the Aam Aadmi Party’s “loot model”.
AAP Punjab Women’s Wing president and MLA Amandeep Kaur Arora rejected the allegations against the leadership as “baseless”.
BJP Alleges Use Of Intermediaries
Bhandari claimed that intermediaries were operating across Punjab on the instructions of Mann and his wife to negotiate settlements in 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.
According to the BJP spokesperson, the purported intermediaries were assigned to facilitate payments in return for helping accused persons secure settlements in rape cases.
“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,” Bhandari alleged.
Bhandari Links Kejriwal To Alleged Network
Bhandari also sought to implicate Kejriwal, whom he referred to as Punjab’s “super CM”. Citing one of the purported recordings, he claimed an intermediary had told a relative of an accused person that “CM sahab” had been informed and was involved in the matter.
“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.
The BJP leader questioned whether Punjab’s Chief Minister’s Office had become part of a wider 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 asked.
“Has the chief minister’s office become a syndicate of corruption?” Bhandari said. “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 added.
NHRC Inquiry On Rs 5 Crore Demand
The political controversy comes amid an inquiry by the National Human Rights Commission into a complaint alleging that Gurpreet Kaur demanded Rs 5 crore to have a rape case quashed.
On August 21, the NHRC directed Punjab’s chief secretary and director general of police to investigate the allegations and submit an Action Taken Report within two weeks.
Referring to the commission’s intervention, Bhandari said, “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,” he claimed.
SAD Demands CBI Investigation
The Shiromani Akali Dal has separately sought a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the allegations.
A delegation led by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Punjab Governor Gulab Singh Kataria in Chandigarh on Thursday. The party demanded an investigation into alleged corruption within the Chief Minister’s Office and purported attempts to shield an accused in a rape case.
The delegation submitted what it described as a 300-page dossier, along with other documents and evidence, to the Governor.
Speaking after the meeting, Badal accused the Punjab government of trying to protect the accused and urged the media to highlight the allegations.
“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 NHRC inquiry remains in progress, with the Punjab authorities required to submit their report to the commission.
