E-Paper
2015 sacrilege cases: Punjab DGP reconstitutes SIT
Punjab director general of police (DGP) Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota has reconstituted the special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 sacrilege cases by appointing Batala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar as its new member
Punjab director general of police (DGP) Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota has reconstituted the special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 sacrilege cases by appointing Batala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar as its new member. AIG, counter intelligence, Rajinder Singh Sohal and commandant of 27th battalion, PAP, Jalandhar, Opinderjit Singh Ghuman have been dropped from the probe team.
The order reads that in the interest of administrative exigencies, the SIT has been re-constituted. “Batala SSP Mukhwinder Singh (who replaces Ghuman), DSP Lakhbir Singh and inspector Dalbir Singh will be the members of the SIT headed by inspector general of police Surinder Pal Singh Parmar,” he added.
After the retirement of Khatra in April, Parmar, in a letter to director bureau of investigation recommended that DIG Gurpreet Singh Bhullar may be nominated as a member of the SIT. The profiles of eight DIG-rank officials — Babu Lal Meena, Baljot Singh Rathore, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Hardial Singh Mann, Harbaj Singh, Gurpreet Singh Toor, Surjit Singh and Gurpreet Singh Gill — were scrutinised for nomination as a new member. However, Bhullar’s name was not forwarded at that time.
Last month, the DGP formed a four-member team for a “special operation”’ for tracing three absconding members of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda’s national committee, who are accused in sacrilege cases of Guru Granth Sahib in 2015. The orders were withdrawn after a day following backlash.
The decision to form a new team caused consternation among officers as it was being seen as an attempt to undermine the power of the SIT led by Parmar. DIG Gurpreet Singh Bhullar was asked to supervise that team, while AIG Rajinder Singh Sohal was among the other four members. But now, Sohal has been dropped from the team.
The SIT is probing three FIRs registered in connection with sacrilege incidents, including theft of a “bir” (a copy of Guru Granth Sahib) from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot district on June 1, 2015, putting up of derogatory posters at Bargari village on September 25, 2015, and torn pages of the “bir” found scattered at Bargari on October 12, 2015.
