Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, along with other accused, appeared before a Chandigarh court on Thursday in connection with the Kotkapura police firing and other cases linked to sacrilege incidents.
Police allegedly opened fire on protesters who were demonstrating against the alleged sacrilege incidents. The related firing at Behbal Kalan resulted in the deaths of two protesters, while several others were injured in the Kotkapura firing. At Thursday’s hearing, counsel representing the accused sought directions from the court for the prosecution to clarify the status of the pending investigation. The defence lawyers submitted that there was considerable confusion over the investigation being conducted by the Punjab Police. Besides Sukhbir, several senior police officers are accused in the case, including former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, Paramraj Singh Umranangal, Charanjit Singh Sharma, Amar Singh Chahal and Sukhminder Singh Mann.
The Kotkapura firing took place on October 14, 2015, following protests over incidents of sacrilege at gurdwaras in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala villages in June and September that year. During the previous hearing on August 10, the Punjab Police, through the public prosecutor, had submitted a status report in a sealed cover regarding the pending investigation into the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing cases.
After hearing the submissions, the court directed the prosecution to clarify the status of the pending investigation in all the cases on the next date of hearing. The trials in the sacrilege-related cases registered in Kotkapura, including those concerning the firing and damage to property, were transferred to the Chandigarh sessions court following directions issued by the Punjab and Haryana high court in April. Sukhbir, who was serving as Punjab’s deputy chief minister at the time of the incidents, is also facing trial in the Kotkapura firing case.
