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POLICE VIOLENCE

unjab Chief Minister Cap- Singh resided for a while at some place prove it otherwise.
tain Amarinder Singh has in my locality Juhu in Mumbai but we Inquiries reveal that the Special In-
made it clear that his gov- never ever crossed each other’s paths”. vestigation Team (SIT), probing police
ernment had no role in the His full statement goes like this that firing incidents at Behbal Kalan on
P summoning of the former “It has come to my knowledge that sacrilege issue, has summoned former
chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal and some rumours and false statements chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on
his son and former deputy chief min- are being loosely made on social media November 16, his son and former dep-
ister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, and actor about my involvement with a person uty chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal
Akshay Kumar by the Special Investiga- named Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in on November 19 and actor Akshay Ku-
tion Team (SIT) probing the 2015 sacri- the context of a fictitious meeting in- mar on November 21. Akshay Kumar
lege and police firing incidents. volving Sukhbir Singh Badal. With all has been asked to come on 21 Novem-
The SIT was an independent entity humility, I would like to state the fol- ber to the Circuit House in Amritsar.
and was functioning without any gov- lowing facts that 1. I have never ever The summon orders have been issued
ernment interference, he said in re- met Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in my separately for the three by SIT member
sponse to a question while addressing life, anywhere. 2. I learnt from social and IG rank officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap
the media after inaugurating the Homi media at some point that Gurmeet Singh, according to an official release.

A row over summons to

film star Akshay Kumar was held before the pardon given to set of findings on June 30, 2018. He had Singh Wala, Bargari, Gurusar, and Mall-

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a blas-
in different parts of the state and at
Minister Capt Amarinder Singh who
phemy case. The summons have been handed over the report to Punjab Chief ke. The incidents led to massive protests
issued under Section 160 of the CrPC, forwarded it to the state Home Sec - Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura, two peo-
While Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has made it clear that summoning requiring attendance at investigation, retary and the Advocate General for ple were killed in police firing. The CM
of former chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal and his son and former deputy chief minister, relating to the Bargari sacrilege case examination, in a time-bound manner, had earlier, rejected as “inconclusive”
Sukhbir Singh Badal was the work of the Special Investigation Team probing the sacrilege and the Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura so that the guilty could be brought to the findings of the Zora Singh Commis-
book at the earliest.
police firing incidents.
sion set up by the previous SAD-BJP
incidents in Punjab, but what has raised a storm is the name of the popular actor, The notice says the presence of the The Commission was constituted in government.
The Commission led by Justice Sin-
Akshay Kumar cropping up in the case, writes SARRAH aforesaid person is necessary for the April 2017 under Section 11 of the Com- gh had a mandate to inquire into the
purpose of an inquiry into the above-
mission of Inquiry Act 1952 by the Con-
mentioned offense and the person gress government to probe cases of des- detailed facts and circumstances and
summoned needed to give such in- ecration of the holy Guru Granth Sahib chronology of events of what actually
Bhabha Cancer Hospital. His govern- Ram Rahim Singh resided for while at The SIT is probing police firing inci- formation relating to the said alleged and other religious texts at Burj Jawahar happened and to identify as a matter of
ment’s job was to form the SIT as per some place in my locality Juhu in Mum- dents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan offense as he may possess. fact the role played by various persons
the unanimous decision of the Vidhan bai, but we never ever crossed each in Faridkot in 2015 after a series of sac- The SIT had earlier examined ADGP into the incidents of sacrilege in Farid-
Sabha, which it had done, and now the other’s paths. 3. Over the years, I have rilege incidents in the state. In police Jitendra Jain, then IG Bathinda; IGP The SIT is probing kot and other places. The Justice (Retd)
onus of investigation was on the SIT, dedicatedly made films promoting the firing at Behbal Kalan, two persons Paramraj Singh Umaranangal; then Ranjit Singh Commission report on
said the Chief Minister. Punjabi culture, and the rich history were killed. Commissioner Ludhiana; IGP Amar police firing sacrilege incidents of religious scrip-
While it has led to animated discus- and tradition of Sikhism through films Notably, the actor’s name was men- Singh Chahal, then DIG Ferozepur tures in 2015, tabled during the Mon-
sions about the actor, in a statement like Sing is King, Kesari (based on Battle tioned in Justice Ranjit Singh Com - Range; MS Jaggi, then DC Faridkot; SS incidents at soon Session of the Punjab Assembly
also posted on Twitter, the actor de- of Saragarhi etc. I am proud of being a mission report on sacrilege incidents. Mann, then SSP Faridkot; VK Syal then Kotkapura and is being seen as a major setback for the
nied “rumours and false statements” Punjabi and have the highest regard for According to the report, a meeting SDM Faridkot, besides Mantar Singh Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ahead of
about his involvement with Ram Ra- the Sikh faith. I shall never do anything between former deputy chief minister Brar, then Kotkapura MLA. Behbal Kalan in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. But the crop-
him Singh. Calling reports of a meeting that would even remotely hurt the sen- Sukhbir and Dera Sacha Sauda sect The Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Com- Faridkot in 2015 ping up of the name of the film actor,
with Sukhbir Badal “fictitious”, Akshay timents of my Punjabi brothers and head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in mission, constituted to investigate sac- Akshay Kumar along the former CM
Kumar said: “I have never ever met sisters, for whom I have utmost respect connection with the release of latter’s rilege cases in the state, had submitted after a series of and his deputy CM son has far wider
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in my life, and love”. He asserted that his state- movie ‘MSG’ was held at Akshay’s flat its final report on the Bargari sacrilege sacrilege incidents ramifications.
anywhere. I learnt from social media at ment above is the utmost and absolute in Mumbai. The Ranjit Singh Commis- incident and the resulting police fir-
some point that Gurmeet Ram Rahim truth and challenged anyone who can sion report mentions that the meeting ing at Behbal Kalan, as part of its first in the state LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

TEHELKA / 30 NOVEMBER 2018 36 WWW.TEHELKA.COM TEHELKA / 30 NOVEMBER 2018 37 WWW.TEHELKA.COM

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