SAD: Witnesses in sacrilege cases being targeted

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 24

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today condemned Revenue Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar and MLA Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon for “insulting” the family of former sarpanch and prime witness in the Behbal Kalan police firing case. They also asked the Congress government to explain why a witness in the Moga police firing case had approached the High Court for protection.

In a statement here, former minister Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that it was shocking that the Congressmen were being accused of causing the death of one witness and trying to buy off another in two separate cases of police firings related to sacrilege.

He claimed that the family of the Behbal Kalan witness had already blamed Kangar and Dhillon for causing his death. “Now, the prime witness in the Moga police firing case has claimed that he was offered Rs2 lakh and promised an equal amount for backtracking. He also apprehends threat to his life,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, Kangar alleged that seeing the end of his political career, Sukhbir was making unfounded and illogical statements that too on an religious issue. For five years, he never cared about Behbal Kalan, but now he wanted to get political mileage out of it, said Kangar.

“Surjit Singh’s died a natural death. I had never met or contacted any member of his family before,” he claimed.

Similarly, Dhillon alleged, “Sukhbir and his associates seem to have personal enmity against us, which is why he is dragging our names in the matter.”