Ex-CM Badal Seeks Action Against Cong Leaders for Harassing Behbal Kalan Firing Incident Witness

Chandigarh, Mar 18 (PTI) Akali stalwart and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday sought action against two Congress leaders for allegedly harassing the key witness of the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing incident, who died in January this year.

Two people were killed allegedly in the police firing when violent protests erupted in Faridkot district over the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in October 2015.

The former CM alleged that despite complaints and evidence, the government was not taking any action against the leaders, who exerted political and psychological pressure on Surjit Singh, leading to his death.

"Why the government is not acting against Congress leaders Kushaldeep Singh Kiki Dhillon (MLA) and Gurpreet Singh Kangar (minister) despite clear evidence and written complaints against them for putting political, official and psychological pressure on the key witness in the Behbal Kalan incident, leading to his death,” Badal said in a statement here.

The former CM said the widow of the eyewitness has been running from pillar to post for action against the Congress leaders.

"She alleged that they put her husband under unbearable strain to coerce him to change his statement and tell lies on the most crucial link in the chain of sacrilege events," alleged Badal, demanding action against the Congress leaders.

His statement came a day after Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that the Congress Party was "squarely responsible for the desecration of religious texts" in Punjab.

Sukhbir had alleged that the incidents of the desecration of religious texts were a "part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to defame" the then SAD BJP government ahead of the 2017 assembly elections.

Sukhbir had alleged, "The version of the key witness Surjit Singh unnerved the Congress government as they knew that this would lead the trail to their house."

On Tuesday, the CM Amarinder Singh had described Sukhbir's accusations as a "bundle of lies.”

The Akalis had earlier claimed that Jasbir Kaur, widow of Surjit Singh, had alleged that Kangar and Dhillon pressured her husband not to depose in the case.

Both Congress leaders had denied the charge.

Surjit had allegedly died of cardiac arrest on January 13.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)