Navjot Sidhu: Sacrilege cases not presented properly in courts

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 13

On the occasion of Baisakhi, Congress leader and former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today paid obeisance at the gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh village of Faridkot district, where a ‘bir’ of Guru Granth Sahib was found stolen on June 1, 2015, and later torn pages were found scattered in front of a gurdwara in adjoining Bargari village in October.

The sacrilege incidents had led to massive protests, leaving two of the agitators dead and several injured at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura on October 14, 2015.

Sidhu said even after over five years of the sacrilege incidents, justice continued to evade the victims and their families. “I have reached Burj Jawahar Singh Wala today to expose the conspiracy behind these incidents and raise the voice of truth,” said the Congress leader.

He alleged that, “Those behind the conspiracy continue to enjoy protection while small puppets are being arrested and prosecuted.” “Until the real culprits are prosecuted, there is no justice to the victims,” said Sidhu.

He demanded that the findings of IGP Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh in these incidents and the report of senior police officer Harpreet Sidhu in a drugs scandal should be made public on the pattern of the tabling of the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report in the sacrilege incidents in the Vidhan Sabha.

In a veiled attack at the state government, Sidhu alleged that there was glaring negligence in the handling and presentation of the cases in courts, leading to the recent HC order of quashing the investigation carried out by the state and the removal of the SIT chief.

Lashing out at the government for not keeping its words of delivering justice, Sidhu said he had no doubts about the competency of the state police in handling and investigating these cases, but until there was a sincere will to pursue them, there would be no justice.

Meanwhile, kin of those killed and injured in police firing at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura and members of several Sikh organisations today staged a dharna at the main chowk of Kotkapura. They were protesting against “inapt” handling of the cases by the state government.