The Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) probing the post-sacrilege police firing incident at Behbal Kalan in 2015 summoned former deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
When and Where was the Hearing?
The hearing is being held at Punjab Police Officers’ Institute, Sector 32, in Chandigarh on September 6. The questioning started around 11:15 AM.
SAD president appeared before an SIT probing the Behbal Kalan firing case, October 2016 in which two men had died.
SIT focused on exploring the truth of whether Badal’s (Prakash Singh or Sukhbir Singh) gave the green signal to the police for firing against the protestors against a series of sacrilege incidents in the state.
Sukhbir Singh Badal was also summoned last month to appear on August 30th but he did not appear. Later on, the SAD spokesperson claimed that the summons was not served personally.
Read SAD Chief Sukhbir Badal Summoned for Behbal Kalan Police Firing Inquiry
Summons were issued under Section 160 (police officer’s power to require the attendance of witnesses) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). This time Sukhbir confirmed that he had received the summons.
What Sukhbir Singh Badal Said in front of SIT Members?
Still, he had denied giving any kind of direct orders. In the meantime, before the hearing, the SAD president issued a statement saying,” I have talked with the SIT members and asked them when I should come. The Congress did drama for five years on sacrilege cases and now the Aam Aadmi Party is doing the same drama instead of catching the real culprits. At least a thousand persons have been called by the SIT. I am not called an accused, I have been asked to appear for the investigation to know what happened at the time of the incidents. I was not even in the country when these incidents took place,” he said.
Not even an inch has passed in this scenario. There has been no trace of evidence against the police or any other government officer.
Is Investigation Turning into a Political Drama?
Instead of turning the investigation into a political drama, the SIT team should concentrate on finding the real offenders. The victims are still waiting for justice to be served. A sigh of relief to the families of victims is much awaited.
