After Former Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal expressed hisinability to meet the special investigation team (SIT) on June 16 due to his ‘illhealth, the SIT has now decided to quiz him at his residence in the MLA flats,Chandigarh, on June 22.
The newly constituted SIT, comprising ADGP, VigilanceBureau, L.K. Yadav, Ludhiana's Commissioner of Police, Rakesh Agarwal, and DIG,Faridkot Range, Surjit Singh had earlier summoned then CM Parkash Singh Badal toappear it on June 16, to question him on the two FIRs (dated October 14, 2015,and August 7, 2018) registered in connection with the firing incidents atKotkapura city police station.
However, after Senior Badal cited his health conditionand informed the panel that he has been advised to rest, the SIT thenrescheduled the date to June 22 and decided to visit him at his residence inChandigarh.
In the letter sent to Prakash Singh Badal on Tuesday, theSIT said: “You are hereby called upon to remain present along with the recordif any… on June 22 at 10:30 when the SIT, keeping in view your age, health (bedrest for 10 days from June 8) and prevailing pandemic situation, visits yourcurrent place of residence for the purpose of investigation of the above case.”
Meanwhile, reacting to this development, Shiromani AkaliDal patriarch reiterated that “this SIT, unlike the previous one, would respectthe law of the land and conduct a fair investigation, withstanding politicalinterference from the ruling dispensation” which, he said, had been “brazenlysubverting the law for petty political gains.”
He also referred to reports that said that the findingsof the previous SIT had been scripted jointly by half a dozen high-profilemembers of the ruling party. These reports, he said, had never been contradicted.
What Next?
As the SIT has come into action when elections are aroundthe corner in February-March 2022 and the party is striving to fulfill thepromises it has made while contesting 2017 elections, sources say theinvestigation will definitely unveil the role of then CM in the firingincident.
Moreover, in the past few months, Capt Amarinder Singhformer colleague Navjot Sidhu has lashed out at his party for not conducting afair and timely probe into the Guru Granth Sahib Sacrilege Case and KotkapuraFiring Case, therefore, there is pressure on the state government to come cleanand deliver justice in the matter.
If sources are to be believed, CM Capt AmarinderSingh-led-Congress will take action against Shiromani Akali Dal leaders for theiralleged involvement in the Kotkapura Firing Case.