India, Sept. 8 -- Police on Tuesday booked five residents of Toor Banjara village for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 47-year-old Dalit man and hurling caste-based insults at him following a public confrontation with Punjab finance minister Harpal Cheema over the region's drug crisis.

The case was registered under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the BNS and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after the victim died at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana.

Trouble began on Sunday during a public event in the village. The victim approached Cheema on stage to appeal for help regarding his son's drug addiction, explaining that the youth had even sold household belongings to fund his habit.

Market committee chairma...