A delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders today met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria at Lok Bhawan, Chandigarh, demanding a high-level CBI inquiry into allegations of large-scale corruption in the Chief Minister’s Office.After the meeting, party president Sukhbir Singh Badal said they had urged the Punjab Governor to take cognisance of the matter.Badal, who was accompanied by senior SAD leaders, including Bikram Singh Majithia, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Daljit Singh Cheema and Sikandar Singh Maluka, said the party had demanded the immediate resignation of CM Bhagwant Mann, an independent CBI inquiry into all corruption allegations involving the CM’s office and family, and registration of an FIR against Bhagwant Mann’s wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur.He said that from September 5, the party’s women’s wing, Istri Akali Dal, led by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, would march towards the CM’s residence to stage a protest.He said, “The CM’s office has turned into a one-stop Sewa Kendra, where rape accused are shielded, gangsters and corrupt officials find refuge, and dubious land transactions are carried out.”The SAD president said, “There is conclusive evidence that five women victims met the Chief Minister seeking justice. All the proof, including audio and CCTV footage, is in the public domain. It is also known that in both rape cases in Amritsar and Mohali, cancellation reports were filed and the accused walked scot-free within two months of the cases being registered against him. On one side are the rapists and on the other, the victim girls. I sincerely hope each and every one of us will support the victims.”Earlier, SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia played video clips of a purported WhatsApp conversation between two individuals allegedly negotiating a deal for Rs 5 crore to facilitate the release of social media influencer and rape accused Gurinder Singh alias Guri Chahal.Later, the individual in question, identified as Simranjit Singh Hundal, distanced himself from the controversy. He maintained that no such deal had taken place and that politicians were concocting stories to defame him. Hundal is a Mohali-based social media influencer and property dealer.The Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab media in-charge, Baltej Pannu, slammed the allegations as baseless and said the leaders were orchestrating a politically motivated campaign to malign CM Mann.He also showed multiple photographs of Guri Chahal with Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia, including photographs from family and social functions.He further referred to photographs of Hundal with Akali leaders, arguing that these were not images of political strangers but of people who had enjoyed proximity to the Akali leadership. “These photographs are important because the same political ecosystem is now being presented as a source of allegations against the Mann family. The people of Punjab should see these photographs and decide for themselves who is politically connected to whom,” Baltej Pannu said.