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Police quiz Badal over 2015 firing, ex-CM objects to questions by non-SIT member
Singla had accompanied the three SIT members, additional director general of police (ADGP) LK Yadav, who heads the probe team, Ludhiana commissioner of police Rakesh Aggarwal, and DIG Faridkot Surjit Singh, as a legal expert attached to the SIT, government officials said.
Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday objected to his questioning by Punjab’s former state director (prosecution) Vijay Singla, saying he was not a part of a Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 Kotkapura firing case.
Singla had accompanied the three SIT members, additional director general of police (ADGP) LK Yadav, who heads the probe team, Ludhiana commissioner of police Rakesh Aggarwal, and DIG Faridkot Surjit Singh, as a legal expert attached to the SIT, government officials said.
There was high drama when Singla posed the first question to the five-time former CM, said an SAD leader aware of the developments, who didn’t wish to be named.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch raised strong objections to Singla’s presence, which led to the former official leaving the room, the leader added.
When contacted, Singla said he did not ask any question to the former CM, and was stopped by the SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and others before entering the room where Badal was sitting.
“SIT has hired me as legal expert through a proper government orders. I accompanied SIT on the request of the SIT head, who wanted me to be there in case of any legal assistance,” he said.
A senior government official clarified that Singla was attached with the SIT through an order dated May 19, as per orders by the Punjab Government orders dated May 7 that said: “The SIT may seek assistance of experts for the purpose of the investigation.”
Badal was the chief minister when incidents of the desecration of a religious text and police firing at people protesting against it took place in Faridkot in 2015.
The Punjab government had formed the SIT, led by Additional Director General of Police L K Yadav, to probe the Kotkapura police firing incident following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
