Sukhbir Badal questioned for 4 hours by SIT

Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday was questioned for around four hours by a Special Investigation Team probing the 2015 Kotkapura police firing incident. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) dubbed the SIT investigation as malicious and alleged that the SIT had become a puppet in the hands of the Gandhi family to implicate the SAD leadership.

Badal reached the Punjab Police Officers' Institute at Sector 32 here around 11 am following a summons by the SIT.

Badal was the deputy chief minister and holding the home portfolio when incidents of desecration of religious texts and the subsequent police firing at people protesting against it had taken place in Faridkot in 2015.

Several senior SAD leaders, including Bikram Singh Majithia, Balwinder Singh Bhundar, N K Sharma and Daljit Singh Cheema, reached the Punjab Police Officers' Institute in a show of support to Badal.

After his questioning, Badal came out of the institute at 3.10 pm and then waved at the Akali Dal workers from his vehicle.

I am indebted to the party workers for giving so much love and respect, Badal tweeted.

On Tuesday, the SIT led by Additional Director General of Police (Vigilance Bureau) L K Yadav had questioned Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal for two-and-a-half hours.

Addressing the media here, SAD leaders Balwinder Singh Bhundur, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Daljit Singh Cheema demanded that the SIT also probe the role of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu, accusing them of hatching a conspiracy to frame senior party leaders.

Terming the entire episode as a political vendetta , Grewal said the SIT should not allow itself to be used by the Gandhi family. Agencies