Punjab Chief Minister CaptainAmarinder Singh on Thursday said the SIT probing the sacrilege cases would sooncomplete its investigation and he will not interfere if they decide to challanany senior police officers or politicians.
The Chief Minister’s remarks cametwo days after SIT chief IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said the finalsupplementary challan in the BehbalKalan and Kotkapura firing cases would be filed in Fardikot court soon. Ninechallans have already been filed by the SIT in the two cases.
The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) had been deliberately delaying the matter but now thePunjab Police had received the files in the cases and everything was undercontrol, said Captain Amarinder at the press conference to mark 4 years of hisgovernment.
The cases will be investigated totheir logical conclusion and the guilty will be punished, irrespective of whothey are, he added.
Listing out some of the keyachievements of his government, the Chief Minister said his government hadsuccessfully broken the backbone of the drugs chain, which is what he hadpledged to do with Gutka Sahib in his hands. Contrary to what was being wronglyclaimed in the media, he clarified that he had never said he will eliminate thedrugs mafia completely. “I had clearly said – main nasheyan di lak todanga,” hepointed out.
The drugs situation in the statewas much improved, he said, citing the success of Punjab Police’s Operation RedRose.
Similarly, in the illicit liquorcase, he said the supply chain had been broken, with all culprits in lastyear’s hooch tragedy and the Khanna illicit factory case identified andcharge-sheeted. Unfortunately, the legal system in the country moves slowly,causing delay in punishment, he added.
The process of ending the variousmafias (mining, liquor, transport, drugs etc) was continuing, but their backshad been effectively broken in the past four years, said the Chief Minister,adding that it was a gradual process and could not be done in a day.
However, the progress was clearlyvisible, he said, pointing to the increase in revenue from sand from Rs 35crore under the SAD-BJP regime to Rs 350 crore now. Similarly, the Exciseearnings from liquor sales had gone up from about Rs 4300 crores under theAkalis to Rs 7200 crores (budgeted) in the current fiscal, he disclosed, adding that this was despitethe problems triggered by the Covid situation.
In response to a questionrelating to the criminal cases against gangster-turned-politician MukhtarAnsari, who is currently lodged in a Punjab jail and whose custody is sought byUttar Pradesh, the Chief Minister said the matter was sub-judice. But if Ansarihas committed a crime in Punjab he will have to pay the price for it, he added.