Kotkapura police firing: Why not probe Cong, Parkash Singh Badal counters SIT

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 22

The special investigation team (SIT) probing the October 2015 Kotkapura police firing incident questioned former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at his residence in Chandigarh for nearly two hours on Monday.

Badal reportedly countered the SIT officers, asking them why they were not probing the Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Badal reasoned that only the Opposition parties of that time could have taken advantage of the law and order problem, and not the government.

He said the SIT was working on political lines despite the fact that the previous SIT was disbanded for this very reason by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Harcharan Bains, SAD’s principal political adviser, said, “The ex-CM asked the SIT why it would not widen its probe to investigate Congress and AAP hand in the sacrilege conspiracy that aimed at vilifying Akalis and turning Sikhs against them.”

ADGP LK Yadav, IG-cum-Ludhiana Commissioner Rakesh Aggarwal and others reached Badal’s official residence in MLA flats around 11 am and left around 1 pm.

The SIT has to ascertain if the police fired on a peaceful mob or an unruly one, besides knowing what was discussed on the phone among the CM, the then DGP Sumedh Saini, SAD MLA Mantar Brar and the Faridkot Deputy Commissioner.

This is the second time during this tenure of CM Capt Amarinder Singh that Badal has been quizzed in connection with the incident.

Earlier, the SIT having IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap had questioned him. The HC had quashed that report.