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SIT grills Sukhbir for 2 hours in Behbal Kalan police firing probe
SIT posed around 30 questions to SAD chief, focusing on his role as home minister during 2015 incidents that led to police action against Sikh protesters
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and former Punjab deputy chief minister chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday was questioned for around two hours by the Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing and sacrilege cases.
The quizzing took place at the Punjab Police Officers’ Institute (PPOI) in Sector 32, Chandigarh, under the supervision of the SIT headed by Bathinda range deputy inspector general (DIG) Harjit Singh.
According to people privy to the development, the SIT posed around 30 questions to Sukhbir, primarily focusing on his role as Punjab’s home minister during the 2015 incidents and the decisions that led to police action against Sikh protesters at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura. This marked the fourth time that SITs investigating the sacrilege and firing cases have summoned the SAD chief for questioning.
Officials in the know of the matter said investigators asked Sukhbir about the chain of events leading to the police firing on protesters in October 2015 following the sacrilege incidents in Faridkot district. The SIT reportedly relied on statements made by former SAD legislator Mantar Singh Brar, who had claimed that he spoke to then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, then home minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini before police intervened.
The investigators also quizzed Sukhbir regarding the statement made by former Union minister and BJP leader Vijay Sampla, who was questioned by the SIT last week. Sampla had reportedly denied signing a joint memorandum submitted to then Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore in January 2018, seeking a judicial probe into the sacrilege incidents and had questioned the authenticity of the documents shown to him. It is learnt that Sukhbir denied having any information about the matter and sought a certified copy of the memorandum.
The SIT is expected to summon him again as the investigation progresses.
At the center of the case is the police action in Behbal Kalan village in Faridkot district on October 14, 2015, in which two Sikh youth, who were part of a large crowd protesting against the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib, were killed when the police opened fire to disperse the demonstrators blocking a key road in central Punjab.
A coalition government of Shiromani Akal Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was in power at the time of a sacrilege incident in Bargari village of Faridkot district that triggered a wave of protests. The SIT is also probing the sequence of events leading to the Behbal Kalan incident.
AAP govt trying to settle political scores via SIT: Sukhbir
Addressing reporters after his appearance, Sukhbir alleged that the SIT had been constituted by the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to settle political scores rather than ensure justice.
He claimed that the same questions had been asked repeatedly during all four rounds of questioning and that his previous statements had already been recorded on camera and documented by the investigating team.
“The questions asked today were politically motivated and appeared to have been framed to derive political mileage from an unfortunate incident. I have always responded to every summons because I want the real culprits to be punished. However, the intention of the AAP government is not to bring those responsible to justice but to politicise the issue,” Sukhbir said.
He further alleged that the Punjab government was attempting to divert public attention from other issues by reviving the 11-year-old case. Claiming that the people of Punjab were dissatisfied with the AAP government, Sukhbir also criticised its handling of sacrilege cases, alleging that hundreds of such incidents had occurred in the state over the past decade without proper investigation.
Earlier in the day, Sukhbir arrived at the Punjab Police Officers’ Institute around 11.20am accompanied by senior SAD leaders. Former minister and his brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia drove the SAD chief to the venue.
A large number of Akali workers gathered outside the institute in support of their leader, but Chandigarh Police prevented them from entering the premises to maintain law and order.
Before entering the institute, Sukhbir accused both the AAP and Congress of exploiting the sacrilege issue for political gains and asserted that the electorate would deliver its verdict in the upcoming Punjab assembly elections.
