Reacting on the final report of Punjab Police Special Investigation Team (SIT), leader of opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa on Sunday took exception to the “report being silent on the role of Badals”.
“As per the report released by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, only Dera chief Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim and his followers are involved in committing sacrilege. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, before the Assembly elections in Punjab, had stated that the Badals (then CM and deputy CM) were involved in sacrilege cases and would not be spared. This report is totally silent on their roles. Why this sudden change of heart? Does it mean that the statements made before the elections by Kejriwal were only a part of his false promises to the people of Punjab?” Bajwa said in a written statement.
Earlier, in a tweet, Bajwa shared a video of Kejriwal in which the Delhi CM without naming anyone, in the run-up to the elections, is heard saying “people of Punjab were angry over Bargari incident and everyone knows who were the masterminds behind the incident”.
“The SIT report was handed over to some Sikh religious leaders instead of handing it over to the people sitting at dharna at Bargari Morcha. Even Sukhraj Singh, the complainant, has stated that the people to whom this report was submitted to were never a part of the Bargari Morcha. It needs to be clarified as to why this report was given to these people only,” Bajwa said, adding that, “the report is more critical of the role of the CBI than attempting to bring out the truth or refer to the destruction of evidence by the Punjab Police which had investigated this case for about 2-3 years and failed to nab the actual culprits. Subsequently, this case was transferred to the CBI and then taken back by the State of Punjab. The people had started sitting on dharna during the initial 2-3 years due to the unfair investigation done by Punjab Police. This report is totally silent on this aspect – regarding the role of police officers. Clearly an attempt has been made to protect the Punjab Police officers”. Bajwa stated, “This report clearly establishes the fact that justice is going to be elusive to the people of Punjab for several years as this partial and biased investigation would not stand the scrutiny of courts and the litigation would continue.”
He added, “The judgment reserved by the high court regarding Behbal Kalan case is listed for pronouncement tomorrow (July 4, 2022). Further statement would be issued only after this pronouncement.” Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab was trying to “hush up the Bargari sacrilege case”.
“Handing over the report to religious leaders does not certify it of any sanctity or truthfulness and the matter of the fact is that you are trying to hush up the matter for the reasons best known to you,” the PPCC president told the CM in a written statement on Sunday. “The AAP government has betrayed all the expectations it had raised among people who voted it to power,” Warring said, while warning the government of “serious ramifications as the issue related to emotions and sentiments of millions of Sikhs and followers of the Guru Granth Sahib the world over.”
Warring said, “We are back to square one, as what the Akalis could not do, the AAP did by giving a clean chit to all those who, the entire Punjab knows, are guilty of sacrilege.” He added that “the Punjab Congress will go back to people and ensure that justice is done in the case that concerns each and every Punjabi and in which some precious lives were also lost”. SAD spokesperson Charanjit Singh Brar said, “We thank Guru Sahib for this. Akali Dal and Badals went through a lot of pain for nothing for more than six years. The report shows that the previous Congress government and the incumbent AAP government couldn’t find anything against the SAD and the Badal family. And the CM himself presented this report to the representatives of Sikh community.”