Kotkapura firing: Badals appear in court, furnish bail bonds

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, March 23

Former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son, former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, today appeared in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class in connection with the Kotkapura police firing case of October 2015.

Former CM and Deputy CM furnished bail bonds of Rs 5 lakh each with a surety. Former Faridkot SSP Sukhminder Singh Mann also appeared in the court and furnished a personal bail bond of Rs 5 lakh.

Four other accused, former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, suspended IGP Paramraj Singh Umranangal, DIG Amar Singh Chahal and former SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma, did not appear in the court.

The court had issued notice of personal appearance to all these accused for today after the special investigation team (SIT) submitted a chargesheet in the case last month, nominating two political leaders and six police officers as accused in the case.

The Badals and Sukhminder Singh Mann have already got the anticipatory bail in the case. The bail pleas of other accused are pending in the HC.

The court today provided a copy of the 2,750-page chargesheet in connection with FIR No. 129 to all accused who appeared in the court. The next hearing in the case will be on April 12.

A large number of party workers and leaders from various parts of the state started assembling outside the court complex hours before the Badals reached there. Bathinda MP and Sukhbir Badal’s wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal, her brother Bikram Singh Majithia and many senior leaders of the SAD, including Sikander Singh Maluka, Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Janmeja Singh Sekhon and Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, accompanied the Badals.

Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “We have full faith in the judiciary and with this firm belief, we will fight this politics of blind revenge. I am grateful to the SAD workers and sympathisers for the cooperation, support and solidarity shown by them.”

Interim bail for Saini, 2 others

• The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday granted interim anticipatory bail to former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, along with former police officers Paramraj Singh Umaranangal and Charanjit Sharma in the Kotkapura police firing case
• Justice Raj Mohan Singh called for a status report by the state counsel by the next date of hearing. The Bench also made it clear that the state counsel may also file a detailed chart regarding the “allegations of justification of firing” recorded in the previous final investigation report under Section 173 of the CrPC and the present charge sheet
• Fixing the three petitions for further hearing on May 30, Justice Raj Mohan Singh said: “The petitioner is directed to appear before the trial Court/committal Court/Area Magistrate within 15 days. In the event of his appearance, the trial Court/committal Court/Area Magistrate shall release the petitioner on interim bail subject to its satisfaction.”

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