Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh seeks cancellation of bail of accused in Kotkapura, Behbal Kalan firing cases

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 5

Amritsar (North) MLA Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, who was part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing cases in the aftermath of the sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib saroop in 2015, has expressed his resentment against the existing team for allegedly turning witnesses hostile.

Recently, Kunwar, former Punjab Inspector General of Police (IG), had moved the Faridkot court seeking permission to contest the allegations levelled against him by witnesses in the Behbal Kalan firing case.

In a fresh letter, addressed to the Punjab Director General of Punjab (DGP), Gaurav Yadav, he sought his intervention for the cancellation of bail granted to all accused.

While furnishing details of the four challans filed in the cases and the seven persons chargesheeted so far, including a former DGP, Ludhiana CP and Moga and Fazilka SSPs, the former IG stated that only achievement of the present SIT was to turn key witnesses hostile even before the commencement of the trial.

In the letter Singh stated: “Some witnesses have filed application in the Faridkot court to get their statements (u/s 161 CrPC) changed while retracting from their original statements, which is not permissible under the law. It has been unheard of in the history of criminal justice system of the country.”

Terming it as a serious grave abuse of process of law, the letter states: “Even the stay in respect of some accused has been vacated in the same order….It is a matter of grave concern that accused have become so powerful that they got key witnesses won over while bypassing and side lining the all-powerful state machinery.”

He requested the DGP to pass suitable orders to initiate the process of cancellation of bails granted to the accused and ask the authorities concerned to commence the process of trial without further delay in the Faridkot sessions court.

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