Murray Wood: No blank cheques for blank slates
Murray Wood observes that a fledgling Saskatchewan political party - Saskatchewan United - wants you to send them money...
On Monday morning, the courtroom where the extortion trial for Harpinder Singh Bajwa was empty.
His trial was scheduled to start that day, but on Thursday afternoon the Crown sent written instructions to stay the extortion charge.
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Bajwa was charged in 2023, accused of attempting to extort then-Sask. Party MLA Gary Grewal.
During the first court appearance on the charge for Bajwa, it was alleged he was looking for support from Grewal in an election for a position on the board of trustees for the Sikh Society of Regina. The allegation was the extortion threat included spreading rumours of adultery and/or sexual assault.
At the time of the arrest, Grewal released a statement confirming he was the victim in the case, but didn’t include any further details.
“As this case is now before the courts, I will not be making any further public comment,” the statement read. “I want to thank the Regina Police Service for their efforts in investigating this matter.”
When a charge is stayed, it could be brought back before the court within one year.
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