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2015 sacrilege, police firing cases: Sukhbir skips SIT appearance, seeks fresh date after Sept 30
Sukhbir’s lawyer, Arshdeep Singh Kaler, said the SAD president would not be able to appear before the SIT in person until September 30 because of a series of political programmes and other engagements
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Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday did not appear before the special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 sacrilege and police firing cases. Through his counsel, Sukhbir sought a fresh date for his appearance after September 30, citing prior political engagements and a medical check-up.
Sukhbir’s lawyer, Arshdeep Singh Kaler, said the SAD president would not be able to appear before the SIT in person until September 30 because of a series of political programmes and other engagements. Kaler, along with senior SAD leader and Sukhbir’s close aide Parambans Singh Romana, submitted his written communication to the SIT by hand.
In the communication, Sukhbir sought a copy of the questionnaire prepared by the investigating team in advance, saying this would enable him to provide written replies to the questions.
Romana said a similar request for a written questionnaire had been made after Sukhbir appeared before the SIT on July 20.
The latest summons was the fifth time that the SITs investigating the two cases had called the SAD chief for questioning.
The SIT investigation relates to a series of sacrilege incidents reported in Faridkot district in 2015. These included the theft of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, putting up of handwritten sacrilegious posters at Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, and discovery of torn pages of the holy scripture scattered at Bargari.
The incidents triggered widespread protests across Punjab in October 2015. During police firing on protesters at Behbal Kalan, two people, Gurjeet Singh and Krishan Bhagwan Singh, were killed. Several other protesters were injured during police action at Kotkapura in Faridkot. The SAD was in power in Punjab when the incidents took place. Parkash Singh Badal was the chief minister, while Sukhbir was serving as deputy chief minister and also held the home portfolio.
After submitting the written communication to the SIT, Romana and Kaler alleged that the AAP government was attempting to create what they described as a “fake narrative” around Behbal Kalan to divert attention from alleged corruption and issues of governance, including concerns related to drugs and alleged custodial torture.
‘SAD-BJP nexus’ exposed: AAP
The AAP slammed Sukhbir over his failure to appear before the SIT, saying that the SAD -BJP nexus stood completely exposed.
Addressing a press conference, AAP spokesperson Ranbir Singh Dhindsa alleged that Sukhbir, who had admitted responsibility before the Akal Takht, could not now evade the SIT or escape accountability for the Kotkapura firing. He said Sukhbir’s attempts to avoid appearing before the SIT while compromising Punjab’s interests to secure protection in these cases had exposed the “real face” of the “SAD-BJP nexus”.
He alleged that the main reason behind Sukhbir’s failure to appear before the SIT was that he had received backing from Delhi that there was no need for him to appear.
AAP MLA Manwinder Singh Giaspura also demanded that the SIT should establish who ordered the police action against peaceful protesters and fix responsibility. He questioned how Sukhbir, who was the home minister at the time, could claim ignorance of the theft when information had reached his own office.
