Capt approved pardon to cops, claims SAD

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 26

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday accused Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh of being “directly and personally responsible” in granting pardon to four policemen, including three from Uttar Pradesh, who were convicted of killing Harjit Singh in a fake encounter in 1993.

“I have documents to prove that the Capt Amarinder government recommended the pardon on the basis of a legal advice from Advocate General Atul Nanda,” SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal told the media here.

He demanded a judicial probe by a High Court judge into the sequence of events leading to the murder of Harjit Singh, who was a native of Ludhiana’s Saharan Majra village.

“The Chief Minister himself forwarded a file to the Governor, seeking approval to write to the Union Home Department for its consent for pardoning the policemen. The Additional Chief Secretary, Home, had pointed out that the state could not grant pardon in cases investigated by Central agencies,” the SAD president said.

He further said neither he, as the Home Minister or the Jails Minister, nor then Chief Minister had processed the file when the SAD-BJP alliance was in power.