Even after eight days of police custody, the Amritsar police have failed to recover the mobile phone and the hard disk of the DVR of the CCTV cameras installed at the residence of former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar.Bhullar, along with his father Sukhdev Singh and personal assistant Dilbagh Singh, were booked in connection with the alleged suicide of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, a Punjab Warehousing Corporation official. An FIR was registered against them on charges of abetment to suicide and criminal intimidation on March 21 late night.Related news: Held in Punjab official Gagandeep Singh Randhawa’s suicide case, youth dies in police custodyHe was arrested from Mandi Gobindgarh on March 23 — though he claimed to have surrendered — while his father and personal assistant remain absconding.Why Bhullar’s mobile is crucialBefore taking the extreme step, Randhawa shot a short video in which he blamed Bhullar for harassment and humiliation that drove him to suicide. Although the deceased’s family handed over Randhawa’s mobile phone to the police, Bhullar’s device is yet to be recovered. He told investigators that he had lost it. The hard disk of the DVR containing footage from the CCTV cameras at his residence was also found missing when the police reached the house for search and investigation.Police consider both pieces of electronic evidence vital to the probe.“The mobile phone and other electronic devices are key to corroborating the allegations of sustained pressure, threats, calls or messages from Bhullar or his aides to Randhawa, as claimed by the family,” said a senior police official associated with the investigation.Digital records — including call logs, WhatsApp or SMS conversations and location data — could directly link the accused to the victim and establish the sequence of events leading to the suicide, the officer added.Following Bhullar’s arrest, the police sought his remand specifically for the recovery of the mobile phone and hard disk. They later sought a five-day extension of the remand (granted only three days by the court) to trace the missing electronic evidence.Bhullar’s phone is particularly important as it could reveal the “other side” of the communication trail — objective digital proof of any threats, coercion or meetings — which would strengthen the case of abetment and intimidation beyond the victim’s video statement.It has also been learnt that Bhullar had sent a video of Randhawa — allegedly confessing of taking money from another group for issuing tenders to them – to his PWC MD Gautam Jain from his mobile. The DVR hard disk could prove deceased’s presence at Bhullar house on March 13 when the latter had summoned him.Officials have warned that failure to produce these crucial electronic devices could compound Bhullar’s legal troubles, with the possibility of adding Section 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information) to the FIR.Timeline of the caseGagandeep Singh Randhawa died by suicide in the early hours of March 21 after consuming celphos. In the video recorded before his death, he blamed Bhullar for harassment, threats and pressure related to awarding warehouse construction tenders to Bhullar’s father in the Patti area. The incident triggered a major political storm in Punjab, with Opposition parties targeting the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government.Chief Minister Mann immediately asked Bhullar to resign as minister.March 23, Bhullar was arrested from Mandi Gobindgarh.March 24, he was remanded to five days’ police custody.March 30, the police remand was extended by three days.April 1, Bhullar was sent to 14 days’ judicial custody.(The father and personal assistant are still at large.)