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Hearing resumes on framing of charges against Sukhbir, others

Former Deputy CM, ex-DGP Saini were booked for attempt to murder
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Sukhbir Badal
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A court here on Monday resumed the hearing over the framing of charges against former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, ex-state DGP Sumedh Saini and several other police officers in the Kotkapura firing case.

The hearing resumed after a hiatus of eight months. Additional District and Sessions Judge Dinesh Kumar Wadhwa fixed the next hearing for February 24.

The incident had taken place in October 2015, when the police opened fire on people protesting against the alleged desecration of a religious text at two gurdwaras in Faridkot’s Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala villages during the SAD-BJP regime.

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The firing had taken place just hours after a similar incident in Faridkot’s Behbal Kalan, where two protesters had died in the police action.

Sukhbir — who was the state’s Deputy CM at that time — Saini and others were booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 307 (attempt to murder).

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In September 2023, a special investigation team (SIT) had named Sukhbir and former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal as accused in the case, claiming that they had directed the police to use force to suppress the protest.

While both cases were pending in Faridkot courts, in July 2024, the Behbal Kalan case was transferred to a Chandigarh court following an order from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The High Court order came after Charanjit Sharma, a former SSP and an accused, petitioned for the shifting of the trial outside Punjab, citing security concerns. He also sought the transfer of the Kotkapura case.

In its August 2022 order, the High Court had stated that both cases should proceed simultaneously. However, in the absence of a clear directive on the Kotkapura case’s transfer, the Faridkot court last week ruled that proceedings could no longer remain in abeyance, leading to its resumption on Monday.

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