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2015 police firing incidents: Eight years on, justice still a distant dream for victims
The Punjab police special investigation team (SIT) probing the Kotkapura firing incident have filed three chargesheets in the court, including two supplementary challans, this year, while the reconstituted SIT probing Behbal Kalan has not made any headway even after two years
Eight years after post-sacrilege police firing on Sikh protestors at Kotakpura and Behbal Kalan, which plunged Punjab into turmoil, justice still seems to be a distant dream as the framing of charges against the accused in these cases is still pending.
The Punjab police special investigation team (SIT) probing the Kotkapura firing incident have filed three chargesheets in the court, including two supplementary challans, this year, while the reconstituted SIT probing Behbal Kalan has not made any headway even after two years.
In Behbal Kalan’s firing, five challans have been filed and the case is still stuck at the stage of framing of charges.
On the other hand, eight months after the SIT filled the first chargesheet in the Kotkapura firing case, the Faridkot chief judicial magistrate is yet to commit the case to the sessions court after which the trial will begin. The trial court at Faridkot has been adjourning the matter awaiting the chargesheet in the probe from Behbal Kalan SIT as Punjab and Haryana high court had directed to take both the police firing cases simultaneously.
Two Sikh protesters— Gurjeet Singh of Sarawan village and Krishan Bhagwan Singh of Niamiwala village in Faridkot district— were killed during the protest at Behbal Kalan when police resorted to firing.
In April 2021, after the Punjab and Haryana high court quashed all the reports filed by the previous SIT headed by then IGP (AAP MLA) Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh into the 2015 Kotkapura firing had started a political storm ahead of the 2022 assembly elections.
Acting on the HC orders, the state government constituted the new three-member SIT headed by ADGP LK Yadav. In the follow-up of the HC order, IG Kunwar Vijay took voluntary retirement, the government formed a three-member SIT headed by IG Naunihal Singh to probe the Behbal Kalan firing case in May 2021.
Almost two years after the formation, SIT led by ADGP LK Yadav filed a chargesheet against former CM Parkash Singh Badal, his son and former deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and six police officers including former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in Kotkapura firing case on February 24.
However, former CM Parkash Singh Badal passed away in April, which has impacted the probe as Yadav-led SIT had named him “facilitator in the conspiracy”.
Yadav-led SIT looking into who attacked cops
Presently, Yadav-led SIT is working on identifying who attacked cops during the Kotkapura violence. SIT has added two fresh charges against accused cops and unidentified private persons for “concealing design to commit offence” in the 2015 FIR. The SIT has submitted in the court that no one including injured cops identified persons who attacked the police party. Meanwhile, three cops, including an accused in firing cases inspector Gurdeep Singh Pandher and a head constable Rashpal Singh, who sustained injuries during the violence, had moved applications in the court seeking action against persons identified by them, who had “caused injuries” to police officials and “destroyed public property”.
No headway in Behbal Kalan probe
Even four and half years after filling the first chargesheet, the Faridkot court is yet to start the hearing on arguments for framing of charges against the accused.
The first chargesheet was filed against former Moga SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma in April 2019. Later, SIT filed a chargesheet against four accused including SP Bikramjit Singh in October 2020. While chargesheet against Umranangal and former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini were filed in January 2021. Since then, the final chargesheet is pending.
The filing of the chargesheet in the Kotkapura firing case earlier this year had cleared roadblocks for trial in the Behbal Kalan firing case. The trial in the case was stuck due to legal hurdles for more than two years now in a Faridkot court. But even eight months after getting access to the Kotkapura SIT’s probe report, Behbal Kalan SIT’s probe is not seeing any headway. The state government had claimed in February that a supplementary chargesheet would be filed in the Behbal Kalan case soon.
In May last year, the Behbal Kalan firing case SIT had told the Punjab and Haryana high court that it was facing problems in the probe due to lack of access to the findings of an inquiry into the Kotkapura firing incident as facts of both the cases are interconnected.
Setback to Naunihal SIT
Behbal Kalan SIT faced another setback in June this year after seven witnesses, including three family members of Krishan Bhagwan’s post-sacrilege firing victim, accused former IGP Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, who initially led the probe, of using the case for political mileage, twisting statements, and making arrests without proof.
