SIT questions dera official for 4 hours

THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATION TEAM COULD NOT TRACE VIPASSANA INSAN, THE CHAIRPERSON OF ADMINISTRATION WING OF SIRSABASED SECT

FARIDKOT : Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) on Friday visited the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Haryana’s Sirsa district for the second time this week in connection with the 2015 sacrilege cases and questioned vice-chairperson Prithvi Raj Nain, who earlier failed to appear before it despite having summoned repeatedly.

The SIT could not trace the sect’s administration wing chairperson Vipassana Insan. After the two were summoned last month, Vipassana failed to respond, while Nain expressed helplessness in appearing before the SIT citing his illhealth.

SIT head inspector general of police (IGP) Surinder Pal Singh Parmar along with other members — Batala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mukhwinder Singh, DSP Lakhbir Singh and inspector Dalbir Singh — asked 73 questions from Nain during his grilling for more than four hours at sect headquarters on Friday. Besides, the SIT also gave a questionnaire, having 125 queries. He has been directed to submit his answers within 48 hours, people familiar with the development said.

IGP Parmar said “We have recorded Nain’s statement. He was uneasy during questioning and evasive in answers. After some time, he requested to discontinue the questioning. As he is only a witness, we agreed and gave him a questionnaire. The dera management told us that Vipassana left the dera headquarters more than a year ago and no one knows about her whereabouts. We have started the process to trace her.”

An official privy with the development said the SIT asked Nain about the whereabouts of Vipassana and three absconding members of sect’s national committee — Sandeep Bareta, Pardeep Kler and Harsh Dhuri. The questions were more focused on dera management’s operations and events connected with sacrilege incidents, which took place in Faridkot district in 2015, people familiar with the development said.

Bareta, Kler and Dhuri are the missing link in three sacrilege incidents that sparked off state-wide protests in 2015, says the SIT. The team claims that the instructions to execute sacrilege at Bargari (Faridkot), Malke (Moga) and Gurusar (Bathinda) were given by Bareta, Kler and Dhuri to the district dera committee members after getting directions from the sect headquarters.

Vipassana and Nain were summoned to appear at the IGP’s Ludhiana office on November 16, 26 and December 3 in connection with an FIR lodged at the Bajakhana police station in Faridkot on June 2, 2015.