SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal skips SIT probe in Behbal Kalan case; cites medical reasons

CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal did not appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the 2015 Behbal Kalan firing incident on Friday, citing medical reasons.

Badal had been summoned to appear before the SIT at the Punjab Police Officers Institute.

In a written submission, Badal said he was absent because of a medical check-up. He also sought time until September 30, citing a busy schedule that includes public rallies and outreach programmes across Punjab.

The 2015 incidents in Faridkot included the theft of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib from the Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara, the display of handwritten sacrilegious posters in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, and the scattering of torn pages of the holy book at Bargari.

These incidents led to massive anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot in October 2015. During police firing on protesters at Behbal Kalan, two persons namely Gurjeet Singh and Krishan Bhagwan Singh were killed, while several others were injured at Kotkapura.

The SAD-BJP was in power in Punjab at the time, with the late Parkash Singh Badal as Chief Minister and his son, the current SAD president, as the deputy chief minister holding the home portfolio.

Senior party functionaries Parambans Singh Romana and advocate Arshdeep Singh Kaler, who is also the party's chief spokesperson, met SIT officials in the morning.

“Further, we have also demanded a written questionnaire from the SIT. We doubt their intentions. We wish to cooperate. However, their intention appears to be of running a political narrative,” Romana said.

Romana alleged that both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had followed a pattern of opening incident investigations with the aim of implicating Badal.

“For the past 10 years, only politics has been played over the sacrilege issue and no justice has been delivered yet,” Romana said. He alleged that whenever the government was in trouble, it brought up the incident to divert attention.

Meanwhile, AAP leader Ranbir Singh Dhillon alleged that Badal was deliberately avoiding appearing before the SIT. He claimed that the BJP and the Akali Dal were reaching an understanding and that the BJP had advised Badal not to appear before the team, assuring him of political protection. Dhillon also demanded that the SIT provide a written questionnaire.

BJP leader and former Union Minister Vijay Sampla had also appeared before the SIT on September 3.

The SIT, headed by IGP Harjit Singh, intensified its investigation in 2024. In June, former Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh recorded his statement. In July, the SIT team visited the sites at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and Behbal Kalan.