Man accused of attempting to extort former Sask. Party MLA has charge stayed

The Crown has stayed a charge against a man accused of trying to extort a former Saskatchewan MLA.

A man accused of trying to extort a former Saskatchewan MLA has had his charge stayed by the Crown.

The trial was set to begin on Monday. However, it was removed from the docket list, according to the Court of King’s Bench.

Harpinder Bajwa was charged in 2023 by the Regina Police Service (RPS) for allegedly extorting former Saskatchewan Party MLA Gary Grewal.

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RPS stated the victim, Grewal, told police that he was approached by the suspect who asked the victim to support him in a local political election process.

When the victim refused, the suspect allegedly threatened to cause harm to his personal and professional life.

Grewal released a statement in July 2023, claiming he was the target of an extortion attempt.

In a response to CTV News, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Justice said the case was found to have no longer “met the standard for prosecution.”

“To move forward with a prosecution, Public Prosecutions must be satisfied that there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction and that it is in the public interest to continue with a prosecution,” the statement read.

“After careful consideration, it was determined this case did not meet the prosecution standard. Given this assessment, the prosecutor directed a stay of proceedings.”

The ministry ended off by saying it is not aware of any outstanding charges against Mr. Bajwa at this time.

In 2024, Grewal faced criticism from the Opposition NDP over his involvement with the Sunrise Motel, which provided emergency lodging for social services clients.

The Conflict of Interest Commissioner (COIC) later found that Grewal violated rules that prohibit MLAs from being involved with government contracts.

Grewal did not seek re-election in 2024.

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