Kotkapura firing case likely to be transferred to Chandigarh
Faridkot judge seeks clarification as high court has already transferred Behbal Kalan trial to union territory
Over a month after the transfer of the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing case from Faridkot to Chandigarh, the Kotkapura firing case too is likely to be transferred to the union territory.
During a hearing on Friday, the court of Faridkot additional sessions judge Ram Kumar Singla sent a reference to the sessions judge, seeking clarification on the trial of the Kotkapura case as a ruling of the Punjab and Haryana high court in August 2022 had directed the trial court to proceed with both the cases simultaneously. Following this, the trial court even kept the proceedings related to the Behbal Kalan firing case on hold, waiting for the SIT probing the Kotkapura firing case to file a chargesheet.
On May 31 this year, the high court had transferred the Behbal Kalan case trial from Faridkot to Chandigarh on the plea of one of the accused, then Moga SSP Charanjit Sharma who had in 2019 sought so on security grounds.
Singla said, “The Behbal Kalan firing case has been transferred to district and sessions judge of Chandigarh as per the directions of the HC. As per another directions of the HC, the Kotkapura case is required to be tried along with the Behbal Kalan case. So the case file has been sent to the sessions court with references as clarification is needed.”
The counsel of one of the accused, HS Saini, said, “There are two ways. Either the judge writes to the HC seeking transfer of the case or we will move the HC seeking transfer.”
The court adjourned the matter until July 29. The accused appeared through videoconferencing.
On October 14, 2015, the police opened fire on people protesting at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan against a sacrilege incident that had taken place in Bargari in Faridkot district. While two protesters were killed in Behbal Kalan, several were injured in Kotkapura.
In April 2021, the HC quashed the findings in the Kotkapura case filed by SIT member and then IGP Kunwar Vijay Pratap, now an AAP MLA. On the HC directions, the state government formed another (three-member) SIT headed by ADGP LK Yadav to probe the Kotkapura firing case and reconstituted the SIT probing the Behbal Kalan case, appointing ADGP Naunihal Singh as its head on May 2021.
The SIT led by ADGP Yadav filed a chargesheet against former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son (former deputy CM) Sukhbir Singh Badal and six police officers, including ex-DGP Saini in the Kotkapura firing case in February 2023. On April 25, 2023, Yadav-led SIT filed a supplementary chargesheet paving the way for the trial to start.
Meanwhile, the SIT led by Naunihal has not filed any supplementary chargesheet.
In February 2023, the trial in three interlinked cases of the sacrilege at Bargari in 2015 was transferred from Faridkot to Chandigarh by the Supreme Court. In these cases, the Punjab Police SIT named Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim as the main conspirator.
These cases had plunged Punjab into a political turmoil for at least eight years.