As the newly constitutedSpecial Investigation Team (SIT) for the 2015 Kotkapura firing incident summonedformer Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal to appear before the agency on June 16, ithints at CM Capt Amarinder Singh is on his way to fulfill the promises madebefore contesting the 2017 Assembly Elections.
Thenewly constituted SIT, comprising ADGP, Vigilance Bureau, L.K. Yadav,Ludhiana's Commissioner of Police, Rakesh Agarwal, and DIG, Faridkot Range,Surjit Singh has summoned then CM Parkash Singh Badal to investigate thetwo FIRs (dated October 14, 2015, and August 7, 2018) registered in connectionwith the firing incidents at Kotkapura city police station.
However, the former CMis unlikely to appear before the agency on June 16 citing medical reasons.
Senior SAD leader Badalhowever, has asked the SIT “to reschedule the date for his appearance for theinvestigations as he is not keeping good health and has been advised completebed rest for 10 days by doctors.”
He has also reiteratedhis “intent and commitment to fully cooperating with the law” and he had “completefaith in the judiciary.”
“As soon as my healthgets better, I will be available to join the investigation as per law, at mycurrent place of residence (in Chandigarh),” Mr. Badal said.
Badal hopedthat “this SIT, unlike the previous one, would respect the law of the land andconduct a fair investigation, withstanding political interference from theruling dispensation” which, he said, had been “brazenly subverting the law forpetty political gains.”
In his two-page response to the summon from the SITinvestigating the handling of Kotkapura incidents by the previous government,Badal said “the entire process of investigations already stands brazenlycompromised through blatant and unapologetic political interference and it reeks too strongly of political vendetta to inspire any confidence about afair process of law being followed”. In spite of this, said Badal, he will“cooperate fully” with the investigative process.
The former Chief Minister pointed out that the very needfor the present SIT had “arisen out of the brazen politicization of the case bythe previous SIT”. In this regard, Badal criticized “one of the members of theprevious SIT” for his “openly political conduct” which had allegedly subvertedthe entire investigative process.
“With a callous and contemptuous disregard for all theestablished procedures and norms, this officer completely usurped andappropriated to himself the entire functioning and designated role of all the othermembers of the SIT, including its chairman, and rendered them totally redundantand they were reportedly not even a part of the investigative process”.
The former CM referred to reports that said that the findings of the previousSIT had been scripted jointly by half a dozen high-profile members of theruling party. These reports, he said, had never been contradicted.
What next?
In caseParkash Singh Badal’s health does not get well, there are chances that SITmight visit his residence to carry out the investigation rather than Badal visitingSIT’s office.
Notably, theSIT has come into action when elections are around the corner in February-March2022 and the party is striving to fulfill the promises it has made whilecontesting 2017 elections.
Moreover, inthe past few months, Capt Amarinder Singh former colleague Navjot Sidhu lashedout at his party for not conducting a fair and timely probe into the GuruGranth Sahib Sacrilege Case and Kotkapura Firing Case.
Now, it willbe evident to witness whether CM Capt Amarinder Singh led Congress will takeaction again Shiromani Akali Dal leaders or not.