After Former Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal expressed his inability to meet the special investigation team (SIT) on June 16 due to his ‘ill health, 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, Vigilance Bureau, L.K. Yadav, Ludhiana's Commissioner of Police, Rakesh Agarwal, and DIG, Faridkot Range, Surjit Singh had earlier summoned then CM Parkash Singh Badal to appear 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 at Kotkapura city police station.
However, after Senior Badal cited his health condition and informed the panel that he has been advised to rest, the SIT then rescheduled the date to June 22 and decided to visit him at his residence in Chandigarh.
In the letter sent to Prakash Singh Badal on Tuesday, the SIT said: “You are hereby called upon to remain present along with the record if any… on June 22 at 10:30 when the SIT, keeping in view your age, health (bed rest for 10 days from June 8) and prevailing pandemic situation, visits your current place of residence for the purpose of investigation of the above case.”
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Meanwhile, reacting to this development, Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch reiterated that “this SIT, unlike the previous one, would respect the law of the land and conduct a fair investigation, withstanding political interference from the ruling dispensation” which, he said, had been “brazenly subverting the law for petty political gains.”
He also referred to reports that said that the findings of the previous SIT had been scripted jointly by half a dozen high-profile members of the ruling party. These reports, he said, had never been contradicted.
What Next?
As the SIT has come into action when elections are around the corner in February-March 2022 and the party is striving to fulfill the promises it has made while contesting 2017 elections, sources say the investigation will definitely unveil the role of then CM in the firing incident.
Moreover, in the past few months, Capt Amarinder Singh former colleague Navjot Sidhu has lashed out at his party for not conducting a fair and timely probe into the Guru Granth Sahib Sacrilege Case and Kotkapura Firing Case, therefore, there is pressure on the state government to come clean and deliver justice in the matter.
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If sources are to be believed, CM Capt Amarinder Singh-led-Congress will take action against Shiromani Akali Dal leaders for their alleged involvement in the Kotkapura Firing Case.