Punjab IG held for firing on protesters

CHANDIGARH: Paramraj Singh Umranangal, a senior Punjab police officer, was arrested on Monday by a special team set up to probe the 2015 crackdown on anti-sacrilege protesters in October 2015.

Two young Sikhs were killed in the police firing in Behbal Kalan of Faridkot district.

The special investigation team set up to probe the case had last month arrested former Moga district police chief SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma.

On Monday, SIT member Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh confirmed that inspector general of police, Paramraj Singh Umranangal, had also been arrested from Chandigarh.

Charanjit Singh Sharma was the first officer to be arrested by the SIT since October 2015 when the incident took place.

Sharma was leading the police party that allegedly opened fire at the anti-sacrilege protesters at Behbal Kalan.

“I can confirm that Paramraj Singh Umranangal has been arrested from Chandigarh on the basis of sufficient evidence we have against him,” SIT member Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said.

“We have questioned a number of people, including police officials, as part of our investigation. He was questioned twice. We have got sufficient evidence that...the procedure adopted (to open fire) was not correct,” Singh said.

“It was proved that protesters were sitting peacefully and there was no provocation by them. It was also proved that firing was opened deliberately,” he said.

Asked who ordered the firing, Singh replied, “As the investigation will progress, more things will come to light. For now, it is sufficient to say we have enough evidence, sufficient base for arresting him”.

The development came after the Punjab and Haryana high court upheld the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission of Inquiry report on the 2015 sacrilege and police firing and dismissed petitions by some retired and serving policemen to hand over the probe to the CBI.

The former Moga SSP, according to the SIT, was about to leave t he c o untr y when he was arrested.

It had been alleged that he had got himself visas to travel to UK, Canada and USA and was trying to abscond.

(WITH PTI INPUTS)