Punjab forms 3-member SIT to probe Chawla rape case

The formation of the SIT came two days after the chief minister assured a delegation of the ‘Dharam Yudh Morcha’ on October 6 that the state government will ensure a swift, transparent and in-depth investigation into the rape case against Chawla

Punjab government has set up a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe a rape case in Anandpur Sahib, in which an ex-SGPC member has been booked, a state AAP leader said on Thursday.

Chawla, who resigned as SGPC member after the registration of the FIR, has termed the allegations “false” and “fabricated. (HT File)

“Chief minister Bhagwant Mann has constituted the three-member SIT to be headed by senior Punjab Police officer Gurbans Singh Bains, with Simranjit Singh and Karan Singh Sandhu as members,” AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu said.

Former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member Amarjit Singh Chawla was booked on the charge of rape in Anandpur Sahib on August 21, following a complaint by a woman who had returned from Bahrain, and was reportedly housed in an SGPC-managed serai. Chawla, who resigned as SGPC member after the registration of the FIR, has termed the allegations “false” and “fabricated”.

He has already been excommunicated by the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs.

“The investigation will answer how the woman came from Bahrain, who facilitated her arrival and stay at the SGPC ‘serai’ in Anandpur Sahib, what arrangements and facilities were provided to her, who authorised them, and how she was allowed to stay there for months,” Pannu said.

The formation of the SIT came two days after the chief minister assured a delegation of the ‘Dharam Yudh Morcha’ on October 6 that the state government will ensure a swift, transparent and in-depth investigation into the rape case against Chawla.