A CBI team is likely to visit Faridkot for investigating the alleged sacrilege incidents in the area, that led to massive protests in the state and killing of two youth. Punjab government had on November 1 handed over the probe into the sacrilege incidents in Bargari village at Faridkot, to the CBI. “In pursuance of Punjab Government notification dated 9-11-2015, the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India issued a notification dated 5-11-2015 transferring to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation of cases dated 2-6-2015, 25-9-2015 and 12-10-2015 of Police Station Baza Khana, district Faridkot,” a Punjab police spokesman said here this evening.
“The CBI has re-registered these FIRs as Regular Cases (RC) and a team of CBI officers will be visiting Faridkot shortly in connection with the investigation of the above-mentioned cases,” he further said in a release.
Punjab Police will provide the required logistical support and offer its co-operation to the CBI in conducting the investigations, the spokesman added. The three sacrilege cases were registered at the Bajakhana police station in Faridkot district. These related to the theft of Guru Granth Sahib at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in June and the putting up of posters in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala villages in September. The third incident involved inciting Sikhs to protest against the theft of the holy book and the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib with torn pages of the holy book being found at Bargari in October.
The incidents saw massive protest by Sikh activists in Faridkot which even led to the death of two persons allegedly in police firing. The government had earlier set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under ADGP I P S Sahota to probe the matter. The SIT had arrested two brothers, identified as Rupinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh, of Panjgrain village of Faridkot, in connection with the Bargari village incident.
Sikhs owing allegiance to various groups, including hardliners, had been seeking the arrest of “real culprits” as they alleged that the two brothers were “falsely implicated”.
Under intense attack over handling of the situation, the SAD government had also shunted out Punjab police chief Sumedh Singh Saini, who was replaced with Suresh Arora.