‘Sacrilege probe was on track, gave it to CBI on public demand’

NURMAHAL (JALANDHAR): While reiterating his allegation against SIT probing Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing that it was out to implicate SAD leaders as per the Congress game plan, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has claimed that probe during their government in Bargari sacrilege was moving in the right direction but it was handed over to CBI due to demand of the public.

“When the Congress is saying that we are wary of being implicated, it means we are right in saying that SIT is playing the Congress’s game,” he said while speaking to mediapersons — a few hours before the EC issued directions to shift out SIT member IG Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh. He was here to address a rally organized by Nakodar MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala in support of SAD candidate Charanjit Singh Atwal.


When asked that the SIT formed by SAD-BJP government had falsely implicated people, including two Amritdhari Sikh brothers, Sukhbir claimed that at that time no SIT was there. “We responded to the first available information and took immediate action. Those two brothers were taken to the court and their lie detector test was sought but they refused. Who refuses? Then there was immediate demand for CBI probe and we gave it to the central agency,” he said.

Asked that he and the SIT headed by ADGP I P S Sahota had claimed that case had been cracked after arrest of two brothers, Badal again claimed, that there was no SIT at that time. “We did not say that the case had been cracked. We were saying at that time there were foreign calls, there were certain link and from that area there were certain calls to Pakistan,” he added.

It was in October 2015 that the SIT headed by ADGP Sahota arrested two Amritdhari brothers and both Sukbir and Sahota claimed that Bargari sacrilege case had been cracked and there was foreign hands behind it. However, their claims fell flat within a couple of days.