Radicals leave acting Akal Takht jathedar redfaced

AMRITSAR: Sikh hardliners on Wednesday left acting Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh red-faced when they refused to receive a ‘siropa’ from him at a ceremony to observe the death anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassin Beant Singh, saying he was appointed by Badals.

FARIDKOT : The special investigation team (SIT) recorded statements of then Bathinda inspector general (IG) of police Jitendra Jain, then Ludhiana police commissioner Paramraj Singh Umranangal, then Ferozepur range deputy inspector general Amar Singh Chahal, then Faridkot deputy commissioner Malwinder Singh Jaggi, then Faridkot SSP Sukhminder Singh Mann and then Faridkot SDM VK Syal in the 2015 Kotkapura firing case.

The statements of Jain and Umranangal assume significance as they were among senior police officers present on the spot when police opened fire on the anti-sacrilege protesters in Kotkapura on October 14, 2015.

Besides former director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, Umranangal remained on the target of the Sikh radicals organisation spearheading the campaign seeking action against the Badals and cops responsible for the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan police firing.

The SIT also recorded statements of other witnesses in the case. Last week, the SIT recorded statements of seven persons, including two brothers Rupinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh, of Panjgrain Khurd village in Moga, at its camp office in Faridkot on Tuesday.

Confirming the development, IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said their investigation is not based on the findings of justice Ranjit Singh (retd) Commission report. “We will submit the final report in the court,” he said.

According to the Ranjit panel report, Jain was rather “vehement in emphasising that he was not present at Kotkapura in his capacity as the Bathinda IG as he had not taken over when the police firing took place”. But records reveal that he took over as IG on the afternoon of 14 October, 2015, before the firing .

“In his second affidavit, Jain mentioned that Umranangal had been deputed from the headquarters on October 12, 2015, for law and order duty. This witness also mentioned that there were no orders from headquarters that Umranangal would report to him. Thus, he claimed that he had no authority to issue command to Umranangal,” says the report.

The report says that Umranangal, in turn, has tried to palm off his responsibility for the action on the ground that he was just asked to be present there and was not in charge of the operation. He admitted that he was detailed by DGP Saini to proceed to Kotkapura where law and order problem had taken place. The report says he was the most active police officer and everybody was seen coming to him for consultation at the protest site.

UMRANANGAL WAS PRESENT ON THE SPOT WHEN POLICE OPENED FIRE ON THE ANTISACRILEGE PROTESTERS IN KOTKAPURA ON OCTOBER 14, 2015