As Punjab Police gets sacrilege files, CM Amarinder accuses SAD of scuttling probe

A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) handed to the state police papers relating to the sacrilege cases, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday alleged that the Shirom Akali Dal (SAD) had been scuttling the process to prevent their complicity in the cases from being exposed.

Terming the handing over files relating to the cases by CBI to Punjab Police, as a "victory for the state government", Singh said it is an endorsement of its stand that, "CBI had all these months, been trying to scuttle the investigation by the Special Investigative Team (SIT) of Punjab Police at the behest of SAD, which was part of the ruling NDA at the Centre till September 2020."

"It is clear now that Harsimrat Badal, as union minister, had been pressurising the central agency to obstruct the SIT probe by refusing to hand over the case files as she knew that her party's role in the entire affair would be exposed once the police take the investigation to its logical conclusion," said Captain Amarinder.

SAD's complicity in the 2015 cases and their subsequent efforts to scuttle a fair and free probe would now be exposed with the completion of the SIT probe, he said, asserting that all those found guilty would be identified and punished under the law. "Nobody will be spared, irrespective of their political affiliation or position," he declared.

According to Chief Ministers' Office (CMO) release, the incidents of sacrilege occurred between June to October 2015 following the theft of the sacred Guru Granth Sahib from a Gurudwara in Burj Jawaharsinghwala, Faridkot, and the discovery of torn pages from the Holy Book in Bargari, Faridkot. They caused widespread discontent and outrage amongst members of the Sikh community.

"These incidents led to large-scale protests and agitations in October 2015. The retaliatory action taken by the police led to the injuries and the death of two persons. In 2015, the Akali Dal Government had transferred the investigation of the sacrilege incident to the CBI. Retd. Justice Zora Singh Commission was appointed to inquire into the incidents of sacrilege and police action in the protests, and a report was submitted to the Government in 2016. After the Congress government came to power in 2017, finding the report of Retd. Justice Zora Singh to be inconclusive, the Government appointed a fresh Commission of Inquiry, Retd. Justice Ranjit Singh Commission, who submitted a report in 2018," the release said.

According to the release, CBI adamantly refused to hand over the case diaries even after the High Court, in January 2019, upheld the state government's decision, and again, in February 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed CBI's appeal challenging the HC judgment.

"Why else would CBI have behaved in this manner had it not been under political pressure from the Akalis, who clearly did not want the probe to be completed," Singh asked, adding that SAD's acts of omission and commission would now be exposed with the SIT no longer obstructed due to the absence of the case files.

( With inputs from ANI )

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