A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Punjab police, probing the police firing incidents in the wake of 2015 Bargari sacrilege case in the state, has summoned former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar for questioning in connection with the investigation next week.
“While former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has been asked to appear before SIT on November 16, former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has been summoned on November 19 and Akshay Kumar has been asked to come on November 21, at the Circuit House in Amritsar,” the Punjab government wrote on its official Twitter handle.
SIT member IPG (OCCU) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said the summons relate to “investigation of cases originating from the various incidents of sacrilege in the year 2015 {FIR No. 129, dated 07.08.2018 under Section 307, 323, 341, 148, 149 IPC and 27 Arms Act PS City Kotkapura (District Faridkot)}. The summons has been issued under section 160 of CrPC, requiring attendance at investigation, relating to the Bargari sacrilege case and the Behbal Kalan & Kotkapura police firing incidents”.
The first incident of sacrilege in this series took place in June 2015 at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot district. Then on October 12, 110 pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were found desecrated at the Bargari village in the same district. A number of incidents of desecration took place across Punjab in the following days.
The five-member SIT was set up by the Captain Amarinder Singh government in September this year soon after a notification to withdraw CBI investigations into sacrilege incidents at Sri Guru Granth Sahib was issued.
SIT had earlier examined ADGP Jitendra Jain, then IG Bathinda; IG Paramraj Singh Umaranangal; then Commissioner Ludhiana; IG Amar Singh Chahal, then DIG Ferozepur Range; MS Jaggi, then DC Faridkot; SS Mann, then SSP Faridkot; VK Syal then SDM Faridkot, besides Mantar Singh Brar, then Kotkapura MLA. In addition, 50 private individuals and more than 30 police officials of junior rank were examined.
