Shiromani Akali Dal President Prakash Singh Badal on Tuesday alleged there was a conspiracy in the implication of his party MLA Gaganjit Singh Barnala in a case of an alleged rape.
SAD wanted this conspiracy to be exposed and exemplary punishment given to those behind it, a party release quoting Badal said in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Badal said that newspaper and other reports on the case also suggested that Gaganjit Singh Barnala has been made a victim of a deep-rooted conspiracy.
The former Chief Minister also criticised the handling of the case by the police, adding that undue haste seems to have been shown in the registration of the FIR in this case and in arresting the legislator.
He said that there is well-scripted procedure for arresting an elected representative of the people and the police strangely overlooked it.
Badal pointed out that the SAD exercised exemplary restraint, responsibility and sensitivity before reacting to the development.
"We also exercised extra caution to rule out the possibility of political opportunists exploiting the situation and creating serious legal and other difficulties for the legislator and his family", Badal added.
The former chief minister further said that his party acted with self-restraint and dignity before giving its reaction.
"We did not, and still do not want to say or do anything that could be interpreted even remotely as interference with the due process of law or hampering an impartial and fair investigation into the case. But even after 72 hours of the alleged incident, the police has failed to come up with any conclusive evidence against the Akali legislator from Dhuri," he alleged.
"We also exercised extra caution to rule out the possibility of political opportunists exploiting the situation and creating serious legal and other difficulties for the legislator and his family", Badal added.
The former chief minister further said that his party acted with self-restraint and dignity before giving its reaction.
"We did not, and still do not want to say or do anything that could be interpreted even remotely as interference with the due process of law or hampering an impartial and fair investigation into the case. But even after 72 hours of the alleged incident, the police has failed to come up with any conclusive evidence against the Akali legislator from Dhuri," he alleged.