‘Lift road blockades’, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann appeals to protestors seeking justice for Kotkapura, Behbal Kalan incidents

Chandigarh, February 10

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday appealed to protesters to lift the blockade on the Bathinda-Amritsar national highway in Faridkot, assuring them justice in the eight-year-old incidents of sacrilege and subsequent police firing.

On February 5, various Sikh organisations along with the family members of the victim of Behbal Kalan police firing blocked the national highway in Faridkot for an indefinite period, seeking justice in the 2015 incidents.

Mann said the blockade was causing inconvenience to commuters.

ਪੰਜਾਬ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਕੋਟਕਪੂਰਾ ਤੇ ਬਹਿਬਲ ਕਲਾਂ ਬੇਅਦਬੀ ਮਾਮਲਿਆਂ 'ਚ ਇਨਸਾਫ ਦਿਵਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਪੂਰੀ ਵਚਨਬੱਧ ਹੈ..
ਮੈਂ ਸੰਗਤ ਨੂੰ ਅਪੀਲ ਕਰਦਾਂ ਹਾਂ ਕਿ ਬਹਿਬਲ ਕਲਾਂ ਵਿਖੇ ਨੈਸ਼ਨਲ ਹਾਈਵੇਅ ਦਾ ਜਾਮ ਖੋਲ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਜਾਵੇ ਤਾਂ ਜੋ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰੇਸ਼ਾਨੀ ਨਾ ਹੋਵੇ...ਦੋਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਜ਼ਾ ਦਿਵਾ ਕੇ ਜਲਦੀ ਨਿਆਂ ਦੇਣਾ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਦਾ ਫ਼ਰਜ਼ ਅਤੇ ਜਿੰਮੇਦਾਰੀ ਹੈ..

— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) February 10, 2023

"Punjab government is fully committed to provide justice in the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan sacrilege cases. I appeal to the public (protesters) that they should open the national highway at Behbal Kalan so people should not have inconvenience," he said in a tweet in Punjabi.

"It is the responsibility and duty of the government to ensure speedy justice by punishing the guilty," he added.

Being led by Krishan Bhagwan's son Sukhraj Singh, the protesters under the banner of 'Beadbi Insaaf Morcha' had accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of not ensuring justice in the matter.

Singh was protesting in Behbal Kalan since December 16, 2021.

The incidents related to the theft of a 'bir' (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib, handwritten sacrilegious posters, and pages of the holy book being torn at Bargari in Faridkot had taken place in 2015.

These incidents had triggered protests during which two people - Gurjeet Singh and Krishan Bhagwan Singh - were killed at Behbal Kalan and few injured at Kotkapura in police firing.  

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