Political pressure marred sacrilege probe: Ex-judge

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 9

Justice Jora Singh, who was the chairman of the one-man commission that probed incidents of sacrilege in Punjab, today said the police did not investigate the matter under political pressure earlier during the SAD-BJP regime. He claimed similar force was being exerted by the present Congress government to hide the truth.

Addressing his first media conference after he joined the Aam Aadmi Party, Jora Singh said the SIT formed by the Congress government was not working properly as a senior member was not taking part in the investigation.

On the police investigation covered by his commission, Jora Singh said he had a limited mandate but he noted that the police had found six suspects for the sacrilege and he had even got their sketches prepared but those were never made public.

He said like the erstwhile SAD-BJP government, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who had publicly taken a vow to bring those responsible for the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib and firing at Bargari to justice, failed to act swiftly even 665 days after the announcement.

Justice Jora Singh said on the basis of the evidence collected after intensive investigation, six suspects were identified, including Rajwinder Singh, Subedar Gurjant Singh, Hardev Singh, Gora Singh and a tailor. He alleged that the names of the suspects were already in the police domain but it did not seem to be in a hurry to investigate the case. The commission’s findings submitted to the government had found them guilty of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib.