2015 bir theft: Citing CBI move, dera men plead court for junking SIT chargesheet

THIS CAME A DAY AFTER THE CBI APPROACHED A MOHALI COURT URGING IT TO STOP A PARALLEL POLICE PROBE INTO THE SACRILEGE CASES

FARIDKOT : The seven Dera Sacha Sauda followers accused in the 2015 case involving the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib on Thursday filed a petition in a Faridkot court requesting to discard the chargesheet filed by the special investigation team (SIT) led by Jalandhar range DIG Ranbir Singh Khatra.

This came a day after the CBI moved a Mohali court urging it to stop the Punjab Police from carrying out “parallel probe” in the sacrilege cases.

In the application submitted to duty magistrate Suresh Kumar, the accused said the chargesheet filed by the CBI in the Mohali court is sub judice and therefore the probe conducted by the Punjab Police’s SIT and the chargesheet filed by it are illegal. Making it the basis of their argument, they demanded the accused be discharged from custody.

The court has issued notice to the Punjab government and other stakeholders to present their side on next hearing on July 20.

“The CBI probed the case and submitted a closure report in the special CBI court in Mohali on July 4, 2019. The agency found the arrested accused — Mohinder Pal Bittu, Shakti Singh and Sukhjinder Singh — innocent. When the top investigating agency submitted its closure report in the case, the Punjab Police have no locus standi to conduct a probe and arrest people without the permission of the court concerned,” the petition read.

“While submitting their chargesheet, the police deliberately concealed the fact of filing of the CBI closure report even as they are fully aware of it,” it further says.

Also, the defence claimed that the dispute regarding handing over the case probe to the Punjab Police was still pending in this regard in the Supreme Court as a petition was filed in this regard by the CBI. DIG Khatra said, “These things are just part of the investigation. We will submit our reply in the court. The SIT has been conducting its investigation in the fair and impartial manner.”

THE CASE

On July 4, DIG Khatra-led SIT arrested seven dera followers in Faridkot district in the 2015 case of the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village. On July 6, the SIT filed a chargesheet in the court naming 11 accused, including jailed dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, three members of dera’s national committee and seven sect followers.

But of the seven arrested accused, two were released as they were granted bail by the CBI court. Five are in judicial custody.