Chandigarh, (Gurpreet) – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said the Congress government was again politicizing the SIT probe into the Kotkapura firing incident by deputing an unauthorized person to question five times chief minister and party patron Parkash Singh Badal at his residence here.
Addressing a press conference, senior SAD leaders Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the entire run up to the questioning of Mr Badal by the SIT as well as making a former Director, Prosecution a part of the team indicated that the Congress government was bent upon politicizing the entire issue. They said the retired officer - Vijay Singla, who did not hold any official position, was made part of the SIT team after one member – DIG Surjit Singh was left out. “The prosecution steps in only when the challan is presented in the court. How can the former Director, Prosecution be made part of the SIT team”, they asked while asserting that the SIT was working on the directions of the chief minister’s kitchen cabinet including Advisor BIS Chahal.
Mr Maheshinder Grewal said though Mr Parkash Singh Badal had cooperated with the SIT as committed by the party despite not being well, it was strange that a former chief minister was being questioned in an attempt to murder case registered under section 307 IPC. He said it was a matter of fact that the Kotkapura firing incident, in which one person was injured, took place on the orders of the sub divisional magistrate who first ordered a lathi charge and use of water cannons before giving orders to open fire. “Instead of questioning the then chief minister in the case the concerned SDM should be questioned”.
Mr Grewal said the Congress government was also indulging in contempt of court by questioning Mr Badal on the issue of phone calls made by him to the Faridkot deputy commission a night prior to the firing incident. He said the high court had ruled in the case that the chief minister was well within his rights to ring the deputy commissioner. “It is strange that the SIT still continues to question the chief minister on this issue”. The SAD leader also questioned the manner in which the new SIT chief – L K Yadav had been promoted overnight as ADGP to enable him to head the SIT even though 32 ADGPs were available to hold the inquiry.
Meanwhile Prof Chandumajra and Dr Cheema said it was unfortunate that the chief minister and his coterie were misusing the police force in the same manner they had done by using former IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap to hit out at the SAD. They said the high court had exposed the former police officer by holding him responsible for forgery as well as conducting a politically motivated and malicious inquiry into the Kotkapura firing issue. “The high court also held that Kunwar Vijay Pratap was preparing greener post retirement pastures which had been proved when the latter joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The very fact that the Congress government allowed Kunwar Vijay to take premature retirement instead of registering a case against him after he was indicted by the high court proves that AAP and Congress parties both were part of the conspiracy to defame the SAD”.
The SAD leaders also asserted that the SAD was committed to identifying those responsible for the heinous acts of sacrilege as well as ensuring strict punishment in the cases. They said the SAD would protest against any probe which seeks to politicize investigation into such cases as they were linked with the sentiments of the Guru Nanak Naam Leva sangat.