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Sukhbir cavalcade attack: Sangrur court frames charges against 6 accused
Almost a year after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s cavalcade was allegedly attacked by radical Sikh activists, when he was going to hold
Almost a year after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s cavalcade was allegedly attacked by radical Sikh activists, when he was going to hold a meeting at Gurdwara Nanakiana Sahib here, a Sangrur court on Monday framed charges against six accused and summoned another discharged by police during probe.
The court of judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) Amrish Jain framed the charges against the accused under Section 341 (wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging duty), 427 (mischief causing damage), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons), among others, of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The accused — Bachittar Singh, Davinder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Manjit Singh, Gurjit Singh and Gurjant Singh — are currently on bail.
The police had booked them for attacking Sukhbir’s cavalcade on October 4, 2018.
The court also summoned another accused Amarjit Singh who was discharged by the police during the probe
“Now, the court will take up evidences and the next date of hearing has been fixed on November 20,” said Sukhvir Singh Punia, counsel for Winnerjit Singh Goldy, SAD spokesperson who filed the complaint in the case.
The accused had claimed that they were only trying to stop Sukhbir from entering the gurdwara premises, but the police did not let them do so. They alleged that the Akalis were using religious places as their personal property.
In November 2018, a special investigation team (SIT) of the Punjab Police dropped the attempt-to-murder charges (Section 307) against the six accused who had allegedly hurled a sword and shoe at Badal’s cavalcade.
“We urged the court to include Section 307 of the IPC, but the court rejected our plea,” said Punia.
