Behbal kalan firing: With two prime accused in custody, SIT probe takes off

Balwant Garg

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Tribune News Service

Faridkot, June 21

Almost 16 months after the identification of four persons, including the son of an Akali leader, for their alleged involvement in fabricating bullet marks on a police escort vehicle in the Behbal Kalan police firing case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the police has started the process to arraign these suspects as the prime accused in the case.

Two of these suspects, Sohail Singh Brar (son of a late Akali leader) and Pankaj Bansal (owner of a car agency) were arrested by the SIT this week.

On Sunday, the SIT nominated both these accused as conspirator and abettor in the case of making fake bullet marks on the escort vehicle of the former SSP, Moga, on October 14, 2015.

Sources said the SIT had now planned to arrest Charanjit Singh, a private security guard with Pankaj Bansal, and Sanjiv Kumar, a manager with his car agency.

As per the SIT’s investigation made in February last year, it is alleged that one of the guns, used by the police to fabricate fake bullet marks on the escort vehicle belonging to Charanjit Singh, was arranged by Sanjiv Kumar on October 14, 2015, evening. These bullet marks were made at the residence of Sohail Singh Brar.

In the last 16 months, the SIT did not take any action against the four accused. It is alleged that under political pressure, they were being treated as prosecution witness. Now Sohail Singh Brar and Pankaj Bansal have been nominated as the prime accused in the case.

Insiders in the SIT revealed that a private gun of Sohail Singh was also used to mark fake bullet marks on the escort vehicle.

Other than making of .12 bore gun marks on the Gypsy, the SIT is also focusing on the use of private and illegal weapons in handling the protesters at Behbal Kalan on October 14, 2015, in which two persons were killed and many other were injured.

Denying they fired on the protesters, the accused police officials in this case claimed that a bullet taken out from the thigh of Beant Singh, one of the victims and the complainants against police officials in this case, was of 7.62 MM. This is a bullet of AK47, whereas the accused police officials were having 9MM pistol at the time of firing at Behbal Kalan on October 14, 2015.