Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday did not appear before the special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 sacrilege and police firing cases. Through his counsel, Sukhbir sought a fresh date for his appearance after September 30, citing prior political engagements and a medical check-up.
During police firing on protesters at Behbal Kalan, two people, Gurjeet Singh and Krishan Bhagwan Singh, were killed. Several other protesters were injured during police action at Kotkapura in Faridkot. The SAD was in power in Punjab when the incidents took place. Parkash Singh Badal was the chief minister, while Sukhbir was serving as deputy chief minister and also held the home portfolio. AAP MLA Manwinder Singh Giaspura also demanded that the SIT should establish who ordered the police action against peaceful protesters and fix responsibility. He questioned how Sukhbir, who was the home minister at the time, could claim ignorance of the theft when information had reached his own office.
The incidents triggered widespread protests across Punjab in October 2015.
The SIT investigation relates to a series of sacrilege incidents reported in Faridkot district in 2015. These included the theft of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, putting up of handwritten sacrilegious posters at Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, and discovery of torn pages of the holy scripture scattered at Bargari.
