2015 Kotkapura police firing case: Court directs SIT to file status report on probe before next hearing

A Faridkot court directed the special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 Kotkapura police firing case to submit a status report on further investigation in the case before the next date of hearing on March 11.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal’s counsel, senior advocate RS Cheema had on Saturday termed the SIT probe a never-ending process.
Additional sessions judge Rajiv Kalra, in an order which was made available on Sunday, said that “at this juncture, RS Cheema, senior advocate, submitted at the bar that the prosecution should be requested to disclose information regarding the supplementary challans to be presented, given that the current supplementary challan has been provided by the prosecution to counter the arguments raised by the defence on the previous date. The assistant public prosecutor for the state contended that the police are empowered under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to conduct further investigation. In light of these circumstances, the SIT is directed to provide a status report regarding the progress of further investigation well in advance of the next hearing date,” Kalra added.
SIT-led by ADGP LK Yadav had submitted a 130-page fourth supplementary chargesheet against six accused, including Sukhbir Singh Badal and former director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, in the court on Monday.
In the chargesheet, the SIT had observed that Sukhbir, who was then the state’s home minister, had conspired with the then director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, to conceal the role of Dera Sacha Sauda followers in the sacrilege cases preceding the firing incident as they form a major vote bank of the party. The defence had argued that the SIT chargesheet had no concrete evidence to corroborate the claims made in it.
The matter is listed for March 11 when the remaining arguments for framing of charges against the accused will be heard.