Govt seeks three months from victims’ kin to complete probe

A five-member delegation of lawyers from the Punjab advocate general’s office held talks with protesters on behalf of the state government

FARIDKOT: Acknowledging legal tangles delaying the probe into the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing, the Punjab government on Sunday sought three months’ time to complete the investigation in the case from the family members of the victims and Sikh organisations demanding action against the perpetrators of the crime.

A five-member delegation of lawyers from the Punjab advocate general’s office led by additional AG Santokh Inder Singh held talks with the protesters on behalf of the state government.

The protesters agreed to the government’s proposal but announced to continue the sit-in protest at the police firing incident site at Behbal Kalan “until justice is served”.

“We have agreed to give three months’ time to this government. Let’s see if they can give us justice or not. But I will not take back the Insaaf Morcha until justice is served,” Sukhraj Singh, son of one of the victims Krishan, whose sit-in entered the 117th day on Sunday, said.

The delegation told the protesters that the investigation and legal proceedings will be expedited in the Behbal Kalan firing case and it will be brought to a logical conclusion in three months. They also said that a government delegation will visit Behbal Kalan after every month to give feedback on the status of the case. However, they informed that the delay on legal front is due to various writ petitions filed by the accused, which are pending in the court.

The special investigation team (SIT) probing Behbal Kalan firing case is yet to file a supplementary chargesheet against inspector Gurdeep Singh Pandher, who is also an accused in the case. Following an application of Pandher in March 2021, the Punjab and Haryana high court had directed the SIT not to file chargesheet against him till further order. The next date of hearing in this matter is on April 22. The delegation told the protesters that they will try to vacate the stay on filing the chargesheet and also push for a decision on other pending writ petitions.

Meanwhile, framing of charges against the accused is pending in the Faridkot court as former director general of police Sumedh Singh Saini was granted exemption from appearance in the courts by the high court.

Due to this, a number of applications were moved by other accused to defer the trial for joint framing of charges, which has delayed the trial. In a recent order, on granting exemption to Saini from appearance in trial court considering he has Z category security, the high court said this prayer can always be made before the trial courts.

Two Sikh protesters — Gurjeet Singh of Sarawan village and Krishan Bhagwan Singh of Niamiwala village in Faridkot — were killed on October 14, 2015, when they were protesting against the sacrilege incident.

On Wednesday, the victim’s kin along with Sikh organisations had blocked the Bathindaamritsar highway protesting against the tardy pace of investigation.

THE SIT PROBING BEHBAL KALAN FIRING CASE IS YET TO FILE A SUPPLEMENTARY CHARGESHEET