Probe into police firing 'shoddy', three IPS officers to blame: MLA

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, October 14

Aam Aadmi Party MLA and former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh on Friday accused three senior IPS officers of making a “shoddy investigation” into the police firing and sacrilege incidents.

Will file challan with mild charges

I am sure in the coming days, the SITs will file a challan in the cases with mild allegations against the Badals to earn them an acquittal in the court. — Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, AAP MLA

Addressing a gathering of Sikh politico-religious groups at Behbal Kalan on the seventh anniversary of the Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura police firing incidents, the AAP MLA, who reached the spot with a battery of lawyers and a dossier of documents, alleged that the investigation by two special investigation teams (SITs) into the police firing incidents of October 2015 was aimed at shielding the Badals instead of nailing the culprits.

Showing documents to the gathering, the former IGP said it was ridiculous that instead of completing their investigations on time, the head of a SIT was telling the High Court that he was facing problems in the probe due to lack of access to findings of the other SIT inquiry, facts of which were interconnected. Instead of raising the matter with the DGP or the government, the SIT head was expressing “helplessness” in the court, he said.

An IPS officer was promoted to the rank of ADGP so that he could be made the head of the SIT, alleged the MLA. Another IPS officer, who “signed” the clean chit to the Dera Sacha Sauda head in the blasphemy case at Bathinda in 2007 was appointed the head of a SIT, he alleged.

On the questioning of former CM Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, he alleged that it was an exercise to earn “brownie points” by the SITs ahead of the anticipated gathering of Sikhs at Behbal Kalan today on the completion of seven years of the firing incidents.

In his hard-hitting comments on a DGP-rank officer, he alleged that the officer opposed him strongly in naming and summoning the Badals as accused in the Kotkapura police firing case. “When a challan was sent for his approval, the officer preferred to go on leave to avoid signing it. I was left alone to sign and present the challan in the court,” he alleged.

Criticising his own government, he alleged that no party MLA or leader came to his support when Sukhbir Badal was issuing a threat of “teaching a lesson” after his questioning by the SIT last month.

Asking Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Kotkapura MLA and Vidhan Sabha Speaker, to call a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to debate the sacrilege and police firing incidents, he said he would continue to fight for justice in these cases.

Besides Kunwar Vijay and Kultar Sandhwan, two AAP MLAs, Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Kulwant Singh Pandori, and Simranjit Singh Mann, Sangrur MP, were also present.

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