‘Sahota-led SIT never gave clean chit to Ram Rahim in sacrilege case’
The Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota-led SIT had arrested two Sikh youths from Panjgrain of Faridkot to conclude the sacrilege as a handiwork of foreign hands to create communal tension in Punjab. A police spokesperson said on Wednesday that the SIT led by Sahota never gave a clean chit to Ram Rahim or anybody else
The Punjab Police on Wednesday termed as “bogus and baseless” the reports that Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim was given a clean chit in the 2015 sacrilege cases by the special investigation team (SIT) led by now acting police chief Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota, who was director, Bureau of Investigation, then.
It is learnt that Sahota was asked to clarify what directions came from the chief minister’s office after a section of the media and Congress leaders from Navjot Sidhu camp targeted him for conducting the “controversial probe”. The Sahota-led SIT had arrested two Sikh youths from Panjgrain of Faridkot to conclude the sacrilege as a handiwork of foreign hands to create communal tension in Punjab.
However, the theory had fallen flat with the media busting the police claims the next day. The two arrested youths had to be freed under pressure of the Sikh organisations.
After Sahota’s appointment as the acting DGP, a few Sikh bodies even alleged that under pressure from Badals, the probe by Sahota-led SIT spared Ram Rahim and falsely implicated the two youths.
However, the police spokesperson clarified that the Sahota-led SIT had functioned only for 20 days (October 14, 2015 to November 2, 2015), after which the case was transferred to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“Entire investigation was conducted by the CBI not the SIT headed by Sahota,” said the spokesperson, adding no clean chit was given to Ram Rahim or any other person.
