Badals will appear before SIT, expect probe to be fair: SAD

Chandigarh, November 12 

Both former Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and his son and former deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal will appear before the SIT, probing the 2015 police firings at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura in Faridkot at mobs protesting the statewide sacrilege incidents, the Akali Dal said on Monday.

"SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal and party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal will cooperate (with the SIT) so that the truth (behind sacrilege incidents) comes out," SAD leader and former Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa told media here.

The decision on appearance of the two Badals before the SIT was taken Sunday by the party's core committee.

"We expect that the SIT will conduct a fair probe into the matter," said Dhindsa.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had issued summonses to the two Badals and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar on Sunday.

The Badals decided to join the investigation amid their party's consistent demand for probe into the sacrilege incidents by a sitting Supreme Court judge.

The SAD had rejected earlier the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report on the sacrilege incidents, terming it as the "Congress-sponsored and biased".

Both Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal had refused to appear before the Ranjit Singh Commission.

The SIT is probing the 2015 police firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in Faridkot after a series of sacrilege incidents which had taken place in the statein 2015. In police firing at Behbal Kalan, two persons had been killed.

SIT member Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, an inspector general of police, had issued separate summonses to the three on behalf of the SIT.

While the senior Badal has been asked to appear before the SIT of Punjab Police on November 16, the junior one has been summoned on November 19. Akshay Kumar has been asked to appear before the SIT on November 21. The three have to report to SIT at the Amritsar the circuit house.

The SIT had earlier examined ADGP Jitendra Jain, the then IG Bathinda, IGP Paramraj Singh Umaranangal, the then Ludhiana police commissioner, IGP Amar Singh Chahal, the then Ferozepur range DIG, besides former DC MS Jaggi, former SSP SS Mann and former SDM VK Syal of Faridkot. Former Kotkapura MLA Mantar Singh Brar too had been examined by the SAIT.

The SIT also examined over 50 common men and 30 junior police officials earlier. - PTI