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Kotkapura police firing: SIT submits sealed status report in Faridkot court
Special investigation team, led by Punjab IGP Naunihal Singh, that is probing the Behbal Kalan incident yet to submit its report
Close on the heels of the questioning of former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, the special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 Kotkapura firing incidents submitted a status report in a Faridkot court.
Moga senior superintendent of police Gulneet Singh Khurana, who is also a member of the SIT, submitted the status report of the investigation in the court in a sealed cover on Friday.
After receiving the report, Faridkot additional sessions judge Rajiv Kalra said that no party shall be allowed access to the report in view of the confidentiality of the information, which could impede the pending investigation. “The sealed cover containing the status report of the investigation qua the Kotkapura incident shall be kept by the reader of this court in his safe custody,” he added.
An SIT, led by additional director general of police LK Yadav, is probing the Kotkapura firing incident, while another SIT led by inspector general of police Naunihal Singh is investigating the Behbal Kalan incident.
Next hearing on August 20
On July 12, the trial court in Faridkot directed both the SITs to submit their status reports within a fortnight. However, both the SITs failed to file the status report by July 27, which was the deadline. Now, the SIT probing the Kotkapura case has filed the status report but SIT probing Behbal Kalan firing is yet to file the status report.
The next date of hearing is on August 20.
Saini questioned by SIT in Chandigarh
On Wednesday, the SIT led by ADGP LK Yadav questioned Saini for four hours on various aspects of the Kotkapura case at Punjab’s Police Officers’ Institute in Sector 32, Chandigarh.
The probe team had summoned Saini for the second time after he failed to appear last month.
On October 14, 2015, police had opened fire at people protesting at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan against a sacrilege incident that had taken place at Bargari in Faridkot district.
While two protesters, Gurjeet Singh of Sarawan village and Krishan Bhagwan Singh of Niamiwala village in Faridkot district, were killed in Behbal Kalan, several were injured in Kotkapura.
