2015 Behbal Kalan firing case: Punjab Police SIT issues fresh summons to BJP leader Sampla

APunjab constabulary Special investigating team up ( sit around) probing the 2015 Behbal Kalan constabulary firing incident, has issued fresh summons to former Union minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sampla, asking him to appear before it on June 28.The summons came a day after Sampla appeared before the SIT.According to the notice issued under Section 179(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Sampla has been directed to appear at 11 am at the Punjab Police Officers Institute (PPOI), Sector 32-C, Chandigarh, for examination and recording of his statement.The notice states that the SIT believes Sampla is acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the cases and warns that non-compliance may attract action under relevant provisions of law.Talking to mediapersons here on Wednesday evening, Sampla said he was ready to cooperate with the investigation but insisted that the documents based on which he was being questioned should first be provided to him."I am ready to cooperate with the SIT, but the documents should be provided first so that I can examine them and give my statement. Otherwise, both mine and the SIT's time will go to waste," he said.Sampla mentioned that during his appearance before the SIT on June 23, he was informed that his questioning was linked to a memorandum submitted to the Punjab Governor in 2018.He said he had sought a copy of the memorandum bearing his signature to understand the basis of the inquiry before giving his statement."The memorandum was submitted in 2018, and nearly eight to nine years have passed. At that time, the BJP was in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal, and any memorandum would have been submitted jointly. I need to see what document is being referred to and what my role was in it," he said.Sampla noted that he had also given a written reply to the summons, reiterating his demand for the documents.He further said that he served as Punjab BJP president from April 2016 to April 2018 and was not leading any delegation when the memorandum was submitted."There were several people in the delegation, including leaders from both the BJP and SAD. I do not understand why I alone have been called," he said.The BJP leader alleged that the action was politically motivated and amounted to harassment, claiming he had no direct or indirect involvement in the incidents under investigation.He also claimed that the SIT action was being used to divert attention from other issues, referring to an alleged viral video linked to the controversy involving Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.Incidents related to the theft of a 'bir' (copy) of Guru Ganth Sahib from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara, putting up handwritten sacrilegious posters in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, and torn pages of the holy book found scattered at Bargari had taken place in Bargari in Faridkot in 2015. These incidents had led to anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot.In the police firing at anti-sacrilege protesters in October 2015, two persons, Gurjeet Singh and Krishan Bhagwan Singh, were killed in Behbal Kalan, while some others were injured at Kotkapura in Faridkot.