SARDOOLGARH, Punjab—Eleven Singhs—including SAD (Panch Pardhani) leader Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu, Bhai Sukhwinder Singh Khalsa (chief Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Sabha Haryana), and Bhai Baljinder singh (Chief of Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj)—were acquitted today by a local court in a 2008 case.
This case was registered by the police of Kot Dharmu Police Station (Mansa) under section of 148 and 341 of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly staging a protest against the opening of a branch of Dera Sirsa in the village Nangal Khurd (Mansa).
Defence counsel Akashdeep Singh said that the court had acquitted all eleven persons framed in the case after hearing the arguments put forward by the defence and finding no evidence against the Sikh leaders.
Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, press secretary of SAD (PP) who was also present in the court, said that now only four cases are pending against Bhai Bittu, of which two are in Ludhiana court, one in Jalandhar court and one in Mansa court. He expressed hope of acquittal for Bhai Bittu in these cases also in the near future.
He added that Bhai Bittu was framed in all these cases to keep him behind bars for a long period so that he would not be able to rise as a strong political opponent.
