Sampla to appear before SIT on Sept 3 in Behbal Kalan firing case

This is the 7th time that Sampla has been summoned as earlier also he was asked to appear before the investigation team on August 27 but he expressed his inability to appear on the said date citing party engagements

The Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 Behbal Kalan firing case has again summoned senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sampla to appear before it on September 3.

“When I do not even know on what basis the SIT is calling me, on what basis can I record my comments or statement,” Sampla said. (HT)

This is the 7th time that Sampla has been summoned as earlier also he was asked to appear before the investigation team on August 27 but he expressed his inability to appear on the said date citing party engagements.

In the summons issued on Saturday, the SIT had directed Sampla to appear before it in Chandigarh on September 2 for questioning. However, in a letter to the investigating team, he requested that his appearance be scheduled for September 3, citing pre-scheduled programmes and meetings on September 2.

“I would appear before it on Wednesday and extend full cooperation in the investigation. I have failed to understand why I have been singled out, especially since the police failed to provide copies of the documents based on which I was being asked to appear repeatedly. Seeking an explanation from a citizen without furnishing the relevant documents is contrary to the principles of natural justice and due process of law,” he added.

“When I do not even know on what basis the SIT is calling me, on what basis can I record my comments or statement,” Sampla said.

He said he was ready to fully cooperate with the SIT, but the investigating team should also provide him with the necessary documents to ensure that the inquiry proceeds in the right direction.

“My objective is not to evade the investigation but to take it in the right direction. I am ready to fully cooperate with the SIT, but the SIT should also cooperate with me. However, if the necessary documents are not provided, the time of the government, the SIT and mine will be wasted, and no concrete outcome will emerge from the investigation,” he added.

During his appearance before the SIT on July 7, Sampla was quizzed for four hours in which the investigators showed him the BJP’s memorandum that was submitted to the then Punjab governor on January 12, 2018, seeking a probe into the firing and sacrilege incidents by a sitting Supreme Court judge. The memorandum was jointly signed by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal and him as the then state president of the BJP.

The probe traces back to October 14, 2015, when police opened fire on unarmed protesters demonstrating against the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari, killing two people.