Crown stays charge against Regina man accused of extorting Sask. MLA for support in local election

SaskatchewanThe Crown has stayed a 2023 charge against a Regina man who was accused of threatening to ruin a local MLA if he did not support him in an upcoming election. Harpinder Singh Bajwa, 36, was charged with extortion in 2023Aliyah Marko-Omene · CBC News · Posted: Nov 25, 2025 11:55 AM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Regina Court of King’s Bench (Tyler Pidlubny/CBC)The case against a Regina man who was accused of threatening to ruin a local MLA if he did not support him in an upcoming election did not meet the standard for a prosecution, the justice ministry says. When Harpinder Singh Bajwa, 36, was charged with extortion in July 2023, police said he had a approached the MLA in January 2023 and asked for his support in a local election process.Police said the MLA refused, but Bajwa threatened to harm his personal and professional life.Police did not name the victim, but former Regina Northeast MLA Gary Grewal released a statement to media shortly after the incident identifying himself as the target, CBC previously reported. Regina man accused of extorting Sask. MLA for support in local election: policeGrewal was elected to represent the Regina Northeast constituency in 2020. He was the first Indo-Canadian elected to the Saskatchewan assembly.“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,” a justice ministry spokesperson said in an email to CBC on Monday. Prosecutors must review cases on an ongoing basis to make sure they meet the standard for prosecution, and it was determined Bajwa’s case did not, the email stated. “Given this assessment, the prosecutor directed a stay of proceedings.”Bajwa’s trial was slated to start Monday morning at Regina’s Court of King’s Bench. There are no outstanding charges against him, according to the justice ministry. ABOUT THE AUTHORAliyah Marko-Omene is a reporter for CBC Saskatchewan. She has previously worked for CBC and Toronto Star in Toronto. You can reach her at aliyah.marko@cbc.ca.