Mohinder Singh, 72, breaks down in tears as he speaks about how his son, Krishna Bhagwan, was shot lifeless by the Punjab Police in Faridkot’s Behbal Kalan in 2015. “Captain Amarinder Singh got here right here then and instructed me he’ll get me justice inside two months of changing into Chief Minister. He has by no means come again or stored his promise,” he says.
The Congress authorities stormed to energy in 2017 in Punjab promising justice within the 5 emotive circumstances for Punjab involving theft and desecration of Guru Granth Sahib, the holy guide of the Sikhs, and the following killing of two native protestors by the police in 2015. All these incidents occurred in a radius of about 10 kilometers in villages of Faridkot. Nonetheless, at the moment, the temper on this epicenter is of anger in the direction of Congress and particularly the CM for not fulfilling guarantees.
A Punjabi phrase one hears most right here is “Captain teh Badal andaron rale-mile hoe nain (Captain and Badals have a secret understanding)”. This, folks consider, is answerable for a flurry of Particular Investigation Groups (SITs) and inquiry commissions failing to punish the culprits since 2015. “Badals have been in energy when the firing occurred. They have been accountable. Captain is in energy for 4.5 years however Badals are free,” Mohinder Singh instructed News18 within the Behbal Khurd village.
Mohinder Singh, whose son was killed in Faridkot’s Behbal Kalan in 2015, says he has no hope from the probe.
Two separate SITs have been arrange this Might, one beneath IG Naunihal Singh to probe the Behbal Kalan firings that killed Krishna Bhagwan and Gurjeet Singh, and different beneath ADGP LK Yadav which is probing a police firing in close by Kotkapura city that left many injured. The SIT led by Yadav final month questioned Prakash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Badal. “However we’ve heard nothing from the SIT of IG Naunihal Singh. We don’t need to take care of this SIT. We’ve no hope,” says Singh.
Singh’s grandson and son of the deceased Krishna Bhagwan, Prabhdip Singh, stated that is in order they worry the brand new SIT could solely accuse police officers until then DGP Sumedh Singh Saini however spare the Badals. The sooner SIT led by now AAP chief Kunwar Pratap Singh “was heading in the right direction,” he says. “In 2015, Rahul Gandhi got here to our home too together with Captain. Congress leaders need motion towards Badals however Captain is totally silent on this problem. Why?” Prabhdip Singh says.
On the Gurudwaras, Unease too
Granthi Gora Singh can nonetheless bear in mind every element of June 1, 2015, when all of it started from his Gurudwara on the Burg Jawahar Singh Wala village. Round 1:30 PM, somebody stole the saroop (guide) of Guru Granth Sahib from right here. Singh lodged the FIR. On June 29, some objectionable posters emerged on the partitions of the Gurudwara. On October 10 that yr, some torn pages of the holy guide have been discovered close to a Gurudwara at Bargari village located 5 kilometers away.
An SIT arrange final month beneath IG Surinder Parmar for these three circumstances claimed a breakthrough just lately with arrest of six individuals related to the Dera Sacha Sauda. “I used to be right here when the police introduced them to the Gurudwara for probe and later took them to the Sikhan Wala village the place that they had hidden the holy guide after stealing it. They’ve confessed to the crime,” Gora Singh instructed News18. He stated the police ought to now discover out “if there was a bigger conspiracy.”
Gora Singh and his spouse underwent lie-detector checks by the CBI earlier and made a number of rounds of Faridkot to depose earlier than earlier SITs and commissions. “Individuals listed below are upset as they really feel the actual masterminds are at massive. Sure, six folks have now been arrested however we’ll solely know for positive when they’re convicted by courtroom,” Singh says. He factors out how an alleged mastermind of the incidents and a Dera Sacha Sauda supporter, Mahinderpal Bittu, was murdered within the jail in 2019.
The CBI which probed the circumstances earlier had filed a closure report towards sure accused arrested by Punjab Police in earlier years.
On the Bargari Gurudwara close to which torn pages of the holy guide have been discovered, the Sikh clergy doesn’t purchase the brand new principle. The Simaranjit Mann faction of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD-Mann) is holding a serial protest from this Gurudwara since July 1 demanding the arrest of Prakash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal. “Sikhs backed the Congress in 2017 as a result of they have been promised justice within the sacrilege and police firing circumstances. Now, the folks will punish the Congress within the 2022 elections,” Gurdeep Singh, the SAD-Mann district chief stated.
Congress Hearth-fighting, AAP upswing
A senior Punjab Congress chief stated the CM has been silent on the sacrilege-police firing circumstances because the Excessive Court docket has clearly stated there ought to be no political interference within the SIT probes. “We hope for all of the SITs to finish their probes by August and convey a closure to the affected folks after six years,” the senior chief stated, talking on the situation of anonymity. The social gathering unit is split over the matter with Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu visiting Kotkapura and Bargari just lately and criticising the CM for non-action within the circumstances.
“Time appears to be working out and other people’s anger is rising. We could discover it tough to marketing campaign for the elections and enter villages if motion doesn’t occur quickly,” a Congress MLA within the area instructed News18, saying the Aam Aadmi Social gathering (AAP) may achieve right here as a substitute. AAP had received the Faridkot Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and two out of the three meeting seats in Faridkot district in 2017. Some locals discuss giving AAP an opportunity, saying they received’t vote for Akali Dal or the Congress. “Kunwar Vijay Pratap of SIT who was making an attempt his finest to get Sikhs justice additionally resigned and joined the AAP,” a gaggle of locals stated.
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