Akali Dal president appears before SIT in 2015 firing case, slams AAP Govt

Talking to the media after the SIT interrogation, Sukhbir Badal said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of Punjab is doing politics. He said that summons in the 2015 Kotkapura firing case have been issued to him to divert the issue.

Chandigarh:For the first time, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal on Tuesday appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for questioning in the 2015 Kotkapura firing case. According to sources, the SIT had interrogated Sukhbir Badal for about three hours. Earlier, Badal, who was then the deputy chief minister and also held the home affairs portfolio, reached the venue of interrogation at the Punjab Police Officers' Institute here at around 11 am.

Talking to the media after the interrogation, Sukhbir Badal said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of Punjab is doing politics. He said that summons have been issued to him to divert the issue.

As the SIT questioned Badal, senior Akali leaders Daljit Singh Cheema and MLA Sukhwinder Sukhi and a large number of workers were present outside the officers' institute in Sector 32. Police had put up barricades outside the venue.

Senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who came there, asserted that their party president was innocent. Majithia said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has failed on every front in Punjab, so an attempt is being made to trouble Sukhbir Singh Badal and the Shiromani Akali Dal to settle political scores.

Bikram Singh Majithia said, "if Sukhbir Singh Badal is responsible for the Kotakpura incident, then the Chief Minister of Punjab and the current Home Minister are directly responsible for the murder of Sidhu Moosewala because of the negligence of the Punjab government."

Majithia further said, "earlier also various special investigation teams had conducted their operation and nothing was found. The High Court has also given a clean chit to Sukhbir Singh Badal in Kotakpura district."

In the year 2015, Sikhs protested in Kotakpura after the sacred organs of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji were found scattered in Faridkot. On 14 October 2015, police opened fire on a protesting crowd in Kotakpura, killing two people and injuring several others. At that time, Parkash Singh Badal was the Chief Minister of Punjab and Sukhbir Singh Badal was the Deputy Chief Minister.