CHANDIGARH: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the 2015 Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura police firing incidents has summoned former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal for questioning. He has been directed to appear before the investigation team on Monday.
The summons come with less than six months left for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, bringing the politically sensitive sacrilege issue back to the centre of political discourse amid continuing debates over accountability in the decade-old case.
Sources said that the SIT has directed Badal to appear before the investigation team on Monday, marking a significant development in the long-running probe.
The decision to summon Sukhbir Singh Badal follows a statement recorded by senior BJP leader and former Union minister Vijay Sampla before the SIT.
During his deposition, Sampla reportedly denied signing a memorandum that had been submitted to the Punjab Governor along with Sukhbir Singh Badal regarding the sacrilege incidents.
Following this development, the investigation team decided to seek further clarification from Badal regarding the circumstances surrounding the memorandum.
Sampla, however, told the media after his questioning last week that he had asked the police to show him the original copy of the memorandum so that he could confirm or deny his signature.
Sources privy to the probe said the SIT has also been examining the sequence of events preceding the police action against protesters in October 2015.
Earlier, former SAD MLA Mantar Singh Brar reportedly told the SIT that discussions had taken place with the then Chief Minister, the Home Minister and the Director General of Police (DGP) before the police crackdown on protesters.
Adding another layer to the probe, the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has also confirmed to the SIT that the order to remove the protesters was given during the night, sources said.
The detail is significant for investigators piecing together who authorised the use of force and when the decision was actually taken.
Reacting to the summons issued to him, Badal said that he will definitely go.
"For the past 10 years, the sacrilege incidents have been used for political gains. Now, with elections approaching, the AAP-led government has once again started its drama. I have cooperated with every investigation in the past, and I will continue to appear wherever I am called. I make one promise: if the Shiromani Akali Dal forms the government in 2027, we will ensure that those responsible are given exemplary punishment,’’ he said.
The Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing case dates back to October 2015, when Sikh devotees staged peaceful protests in Faridkot district following incidents of alleged sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
During the protests, police had opened fire on demonstrators. Two Sikh protesters were killed in the firing at Behbal Kalan, while several others sustained serious injuries.
The SIT continues to intensify its investigation to establish accountability in the case.
At the centre of the sacrilege controversy is Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, which held considerable sway over a large section of the marginalized classes in the Malwa region of Punjab. Both the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) tried to curry favor with it.
The reason, the Malwa region of the state has nearly half of the 117 Assembly seats, with the Majha and Doaba regions making up the rest.
