2015 Kotkapura firing case: Badals submit bail bonds in Faridkot court
Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday submitted bail bonds of ₹5 lakh each that were accepted by the Faridkot court in the 2015 Kotkapura firing case.
Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday submitted bail bonds of ₹5 lakh each that were accepted by the Faridkot court in the 2015 Kotkapura firing case.
The bail bonds were accepted by the court of judicial magistrate Ajaypal Singh. The court supplied certified copies of the chargesheet filed by the ADGP LK Yadav-led special investigation team (SIT) to the accused. The case was adjourned to April 12 for further proceedings.
Badals were accompanied by scores of supporters . After appearing in the court, Sukhbir held a roadshow in the city.
Sukhbir Badal said, “We have full faith in the judiciary and will fight this politics of blind vendetta with that faith. I am grateful for the spontaneous outpouring of support and solidarity shown by SAD workers.”
SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said that the SIT officers worked on the directions of the government and Aam Aadmi Party has already “cleared their intention.” “The real SIT working on this case is chief minister Bhagwant Mann and speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan. They are doing vendetta politics, but the court will deliver justice,” he added.
On February 24, the SIT filed a chargesheet in a Faridkot court, naming Badals and five police officers, former director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, suspended inspector general Paramraj Singh Umranangal, former deputy inspector general of police Amar Singh Chahal, former senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sukhminder Singh Mann and former SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma in an FIR registered in 2018 in connection with Kotkapura firing case. The FIR was registered on the recommendation of justice Ranjit Singh (retd) commission report, which probed the Kotkapura firing incident.
The 7,000-page chargesheet submitted by the SIT last month described Sukhbir, who also held the home portfolio, and Saini as “masterminds of the conspiracy to use illegal excessive force to hide the state’s inaction” on three sacrilege incidents in Faridkot district in 2015. SIT accused the former CM of facilitating the accused in executing the conspiracy and encouraging Saini to “use excessive and illegal force against protesters”.
SIT claimed in the chargesheet that Sukhbir intentionally abandoned the law and order of the state on October 12, 2015 and departed for Gurgaon despite having knowledge of the third incident of sacrilege and growing resentment among Sikh community at Bargari and Kotkapura with an intention to use absence as an excuse to evade the responsibility of illegal actions of police under Sumedh Singh Saini.
Following the charge sheet, Faridkot judicial magistrate ordered all eight accused to appear before the court on March 23. Last week, Sukhbir had moved to the high court after the Faridkot court initially dismissed his anticipatory bail plea. The local court had, however, granted bail to his father Parkash Singh Badal, who was the then chief minister. On Tuesday, the Punjab and Haryana high court had granted interim bail to Sukhbir till May 30 in the case. HC had asked Sukhbir to appear before the trial court and submit the bail bond within 15 days.
Saini, Umranangal, 2 other cops fail to appear
While former senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sukhminder Singh Mann appeared before the court, four other former police officers, namely former director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, suspended inspector general Paramraj Singh Umranangal, former deputy inspector general of police Amar Singh Chahal and former SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma, did not show up. Mann also submitted a bail bond of ₹5 lakh.
On Tuesday, a Faridkot court had rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of Saini, Umranangal and Sharma in connection with the 2015 Kotkapura firing incident. Meanwhile, Chahal is in Canada.