SIT: Case against dera chief was cancelled at Sukhbir’s behest

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 30

A chargesheet filed in the court here by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the Kotkapura firing incident of October 2015 has claimed that Sukhbir Badal had got cancelled a criminal case of blasphemy against Dera Sacha Sauda chief in January 2015, five days before the polling for Assembly elections to gain vote bank of the dera. The criminal case was registered against the dera chief in May 2007 at Bathinda.

The act of firing on peaceful protesters in Kotkapura on October 14, 2015, was an outcome of a conspiracy between certain high-profile politicians and police officers in connivance with the head of Dera Sacha Sauda and his followers.

IGP Paramraj Singh Umranangal, former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, former Akali MLA Mantar Singh Brar, former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal were part of the conspiracy. This is unambiguous finding of the SIT, reads the chargesheet.

In the chargesheet, the SIT has alleged that after granting pardon to Sacha Sauda dera chief on September 24, 2015, the SGPC had spent Rs 82.50 lakh on related advertisement to justify and give publicity to this pardon.

Before this pardon to the dera chief, Sukhbir Singh Badal had a meeting with the dera chief in Mumbai on September 15, 2015, and the meeting was arranged by film actor Akshay Kumar.

A day after this pardon to the dera chief, a controversial film of the dera chief was released in Punjab on September 25, 2015. “Singh is Bling”, a controversial film of Akshay Kumar was also released in Punjab on October 2, 2015.

The SGPC was requested to provide the copy of letter for pardon it had received from the dera chief, but the letter and relevant record have not been provided by the SGPC, reads the chargesheet.

About the defence of alibi by Sukhbir Badal that he was not in Punjab when the incident of police firing took place at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan, the SIT claimed in the chargesheet that he was aware of each and every development on that day. The SIT is waiting for response from the office of the Chief Secretary, Punjab, about the details of Sukhbir’s presence on that day, reads the chargesheet.

Accusing the police under the command of IGP Paramraj Singh Umranangal of arson, the SIT’s chargesheet relied upon some video clips to show that the police were putting a Tempo with sound system on fire and this happened in the presence of DIG AS Chahal and Umranangal. He was in civil dress purposely not to be identified by the people.

To execute its plan in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan on October 14, 2015, the then SSP, Moga, Charanjit Sharma, was especially called by Umranangal and Sumedh Saini from leave. Other police officers, including DIG Amar Singh Chahal, DSP and SHO, Kotkapura, followed the command of Umranangal in furtherance of the conspiracy, reads the chargesheet.