Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday ridiculed Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal for jumping the gun on the High Court orders in the Kotkapura firing case, of which the High Court is yet to release the copy, and urged the Akali leader to refrain from making merry as the matter is far from being over.
“At least wait for the copy of the orders, before claiming victory,” the Chief Minister advised the SAD president, mocking his reaction to media reports of the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision on the investigation into the 2015 incident by the Punjab Police Special Investigation Team (SIT). He pointed out there has been no official announcement yet of the court verdict.
“In any case, whatever the verdict in the matter, I stand by the investigation of the SIT, which has, at no point, absolved the Badal family of involvement in the heinous incident, that led to innocent people losing their lives,” said Capt Amarinder, vowing to ensure justice for the families and punishment for the guilty, irrespective of who they are.
Reiterating that his government will challenge any court order that either quash the SIT probe or removes the officer in charge, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, the Chief Minister said Sukhbir’s desperation to celebrate his non-victory exposed his panic in the face of what he must have seen as writing on the wall, given the direction in which the SIT investigation was pointing. The SIT has so far charge-sheeted six persons in the Kotkapura case, including against then Kotkapura Akaki MLA and Halqa in-charge Mantar Singh Brar. The charge sheet against Brar clearly mentions, “On the analysis of the call details, it has been established that he made phone calls to the then Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal through the Special Principal Secretary to the CM (Gagandeep Singh Brar) and OSD to the CM Gurcharan Singh.”
Capt Amarinder derided Sukhbir’s attempt to wriggle out of the corner in which he finds himself in the light of the charge sheet against Brar by screaming vendetta and witch-hunt. Nothing else explains the haste of the former Deputy CM and Home Minister of Punjab to seek validation of his innocence in an HC order that is yet to come, he added.