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Probing if Bittu murder plot hatched outside jail: Randhawa
The minister said investigations were on to find out if a plot to kill Bittu was hatched outside the jail.
Punjab jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has not ruled out conspiracy behind the killing of Mohinder Pal Bittu—a follower of Dera Sacha Sauda and prime accused in 2015 sacrilege case — in Nabha prison on Saturday.
Randhawa said investigations were on to find out if a plot to kill Bittu was hatched outside the jail. The killing of Bittu would directly affect the sacrilege cases probe, he said on Monday.
Randhawa, who was in Ludhiana to attend a state-level function to celebrate the birth anniversary of Master Tara Singh, said Bittu’s killing had taken place at a time when the special investigation team (SIT), probing the sacrilege incident, was planning to question him.
“I have requested chief minister Amarinder Singh for a thorough probe into the murder in order to get to the bottom of the matter,” said Randhawa.
The minister said if Maninder Singh and Gursewak Singh had killed Bittu to avenge the sacrilege, then they had not done anything praiseworthy. “They have not only killed Bittu, but also eliminated the man who could have helped the probe team in finding out where the sacrilege was planned. His death has left many questions unanswered and the truth will come out only after an inquiry,” Randhawa added.
‘It all happened in 2 minutes’
Randhawa said he had visited the jail on Sunday and spoken to some dera supporter inmates. They were kept in a separate barracks and their meeting time was also different, he said, adding that they had no contacts with other inmates.
“It all happened in two minutes. The accused had used an iron rod, uprooted from a barrack, to kill Bittu. Besides, the victim was attacked with bricks. Another dera follower saved himself by using a wooden log. The ADGP prison is investigating the matter and he would submit a report by Tuesday,” said Randhawa.
The jails minister lambasted radical groups who are taking credit for killing Bittu over social media. “They have betrayed the country and the community by killing the prime accused,” said Randhawa.
Also Read | Dera follower murder: Bittu was attacked when he came out of his cell, say cops
‘Central govt did nothing for improving condition in jails’
He said the Union government was doing nothing to improve the condition of jails. While funds were being released for the modernisation of Punjab Police nothing was being done for improving the condition of jails. “I have written many letters to the centre government highlighting the plight of jails.
‘Three CRPF companies to be deployed’
He said three companies of CRPF would be deployed in three separate high-security prisons across the state. The state government would incur a burden of ₹24 crore for hiring CRPF personnel, he added. “However, from next year onwards, we will recruit youngsters from our state,” said Randhawa.
‘Sidhu is like my younger brother’
While speaking on the controversy between cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu and the CM, Randhawa said the issue would resolve in a couple of days. “Sidhu is like my youngster brother. It is an internal issue of the party and we will settle it,” said Randhawa.
Also Read | Nabha jail murder: Standoff ends, Dera man cremated as government forms SIT
