Sukhbir Badal.The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing cases of sacrilege and police firing in 2015, has filed a chargesheet in a Faridkot court, calling the incidents “a handiwork of then Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, DGP Sumedh Singh Saini and Dera Sacha Sauda”.
Reacting to the charges filed by SIT member IG Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal claimed the report had been prepared at the behest of Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh. “What do they want to do with this report; they want to arrest me and put me in jail, let them do this, if they feel happy. I have already spent so many years in jail and hence I have no fear of going to jail,” he said speaking to the media.
Reacting to the 2000-page chargesheet was filed by IG Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh in a Faridkot court, SAD chief Sukhbir Badal said: “He is working like a Congress agent. Rather than naming me in the chargesheet, if he has enough proof against me, I dare him to arrest me… The entire SIT report is a fraud and a political drama…”
The chargesheet filed in the court of judicial magistrate Ekta Uppal on May 28, also named former Akali MLA Mantar Singh Brar and five police officers for their role in the Kotkapura firing and lathi-charge.
The chargesheet linked the transfer of Hardeep Singh Dhillon, the then Intelligence chief, on October 10, 2015 with this case, saying that the first incident of sacrilege happened two days later on October 12, at Bargari village followed by the the firing on protesters on October 15. The SAD-BJP government replaced Dhillon with R K Jaiswal, a junior DIG-rank officer, says the chargesheet. The chargesheet says then state Home Minister Sukhbir Badal was not able to give a satisfactory reply on the issue of Dhillon’s transfer.
The report also states that actor Akshay Kumar arranged a meeting of Sukhbir Singh Badal with Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in Mumbai to broker a compromise. But the chargesheet doesn’t mention the date of this meeting.
It may be recalled that the SIT had called Akshay Kumar to Chandigarh for questioning in November 2018, and the latter had denied arranging any such meeting. In fact, the actor had gone on record to say that he had never met the Dera chief. Meanwhile, former CM Parkash Singh Badal reiterated that those responsible for sacrilege should get the worst possible punishment.
