Kotkapura firing: Tough task ahead for new probe team
The previous SIT had relied upon records of telephonic conversations between CMO, DGP, ex-Akali MLA and cops present on the spot to claim it to be a conspiracy
The newly constituted three-member special investigation team (SIT) of the Punjab Police to probe the 2015 Kotkapura firing case has an uphill task ahead to examine what its predecessor termed a “conspiracy”.
The high court on April 9 had quashed all the reports filed by the previous SIT headed by inspector general of police (now retired) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh into the Kotkapura firing — police had opened fire at people protesting over the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari village of Faridkot district. Acting on the HC orders, the state government constituted the new three-member SIT headed by additional director general of police (vigilance bureau) LK Yadav, who will be assisted by Ludhiana police commissioner Rakesh Agrawal and Faridkot range DIG Surjit Singh.
The new SIT has been directed to complete the investigation within six months.
An official, who is part of the government’s legal team, said that the Yadav-led SIT needs to find something beyond call records to prove the conspiracy theory. “Kunwar Vijay’s team had mainly relied upon the records of telephone calls to prove this was a conspiracy hatched by the cops and politicians, but there is not one substantiate evidence to prove the nature of conversation on record. So, the new SIT needs to look into other angles to back this theory as right now evidence only limits to cops being present on the spot,” the official said.
To claim conspiracy between then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA and then senior police officers, Kunwar Vijay relied upon call records exchanged between them on October 14, 2015. His SIT named former SAD MLA Mantar Singh Brar as accused claiming it was probing the contents of 157 calls he exchanged with the chief minister’s office (CMO), then DGP office, some ministers and local administration officials on the night before the firing took place.
However, the high court had stated that the SIT had claimed that then CM Badal talked through the phones of his principal secretary and OSD. “However, none of their versions have been taken on record by the SIT to substantiate the nature of conversation. No other witness is stated to have even remotely suggested that then CM conspired to kill the protestors by police firing,” the court had said.
“Mere factum of a CM talking to the district administration or DGP in a situation where the law and order is disturbed, in itself, would not be sufficient to infer his conspiracy to kill or injure anybody through firing by the police upon the protestors, unless there is some other material collected by the investigating officer to establish a prior meeting of minds for conspiracy and then directly linking the CM to such conspiracy,” the court had added.
Role of protesters to be looked into
The new SIT will investigate the role of the protesters as the high court has observed that police firing was not “unprovoked”. Sources said that the probe team will also investigate the role of Sikh preachers who were declared “innocent” by Kunwar Vijay’s SIT.
Kunwar Vijay’s team had declared Sikh preachers Bhai Panthpreet Singh, Bhai Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale, Amrik Singh Ajnala, Harjinder Singh Manjhi, Giani Kewal Singh, and 18 others as innocent in the Kotkapura violence case registered in 2015 claiming they were framed by cops. On October 14, 2015, police registered an FIR against 15 Sikh preachers and unknown persons at Kotkapura city police station for allegedly instigating the protesters to attack the police with sharp-edged weapons and opening fire on cops.
The high court said the magistrate present on the spot had assessed the situation and granted permission to use tear gas in the first instance, lathi charge thereafter, and the gun firing at the third stage. “Before that, as per records, the protestors were recorded on video to have chased and attacked the police, even with swords. Therefore, the conclusion that the protestors were sitting peacefully when the police started firing and also, the conclusion that firing by the police was unprovoked is against the record even on this count,” the HC had said.
A total of 77 medico-legal reports (MLRs) of policemen who were injured in the firing incident are on the record.