2015 Kotkapura police firing: Punjab govt gives nod to prosecute Badals, 6 others
Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal are among eight accused who have been given permission to be prosecuted in the 2015 Kotkapura police firing case. The Punjab home department gave its nod to prosecute the accused under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The FIR was registered on the recommendation of the Justice Ranjit Singh commission report. Two Sikh protesters were killed in the firing at Behbal Kalan during a protest against the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib.
The Punjab home department has given its nod to prosecute eight accused, including former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son and former deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal in the 2015 Kotkapura police firing case.
The special investigation team probing the case filed a supplementary chargesheet in a local court on Tuesday, along with the prosecution sanction order. The first chargesheet was filed two months ago.
The 2,400-page supplementary chargesheet was filed against Badal Senior, Sukhbir, former director general of police Sumedh Singh Saini, suspended inspector general of police (IGP) Paramraj Singh Umranangal, then DIG Amar Singh Chahal, then Faridkot senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sukhmander Singh Mann and former SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma in an FIR registered in 2018 in connection with the case.
The prosecution of accused was sanctioned under Section 197 (prosecution to judges and public servants) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). “In the sanction, the home department has observed that after going through the entire evidence on record and forensic proof collected by the SIT, prima facie case is made out against the accused. Being a competent authority, the home department granted permission to prosecute all eight accused in both cases,” an official said.
The FIR was registered on the recommendation of the Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) commission report that probed the incident. The supplementary chargesheet filed by the SIT led by ADGP LK Yadav is supported by 2,374 pages of facts, documents, sanction order and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) report. It also includes 45 new statements of witnesses and 43 new pieces of evidences.
On February 24, the SIT --- set up by the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in 2021 --- had filed a 7,000-page chargesheet that had statements of 218 persons as witnesses, including 52 protesters and 12 cops.
The SIT also filed a supplementary chargesheet against Saini, Umranangal, Mann and then Kotkapura station house officer Gurdeep Singh Pandher in the FIR registered immediately after the incident on October 14, 2015.
On February 24, the SIT filed a chargesheet naming Saini, Umranangal, Mann and Pandher as accused in the FIR registered in 2015. The prosecution was sanctioned by the home department against Saini, Umranangal, Mann and Pandher in this case as well.
Former SSP Manna and Pandher appeared in the court of judicial magistrate Ajaypal Singh for the hearing in the Kotkapura firing case, while the six other accused, including the Badals, sought exemption from personal appearance, which was granted by the court on Tuesday. The matter was adjourned to May 16 for further proceedings.
On October 14, 2015, police had opened fire at people protesting at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan, both in Faridkot district, against the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari village. Two Sikh protesters — Gurjeet Singh of Sarawan village and Krishan Bhagwan Singh of Niamiwala village in Faridkot— were killed in the firing at Behbal Kalan.