CHANDIGARH, Punjab—On January 18, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Kotkapura firing incident filed a supplementary charge sheet against the former Punjab DGP Sumedh Saini in the Court of Judicial Magistrate Ekta Uppal. It is learned that the SIT has charged Sumedh Saini under section 120-B, i.e., criminal conspiracy.
With the submission of the charge sheet against Sumedh Saini, Magistrate Ekta Uppal has summoned him for appearing personally while deferring the hearing on this case onto February 18.
On October 14 in 2015, the Punjab police cops had opened unprovoked firing on the peacefully protesting Sikhs at Kotkapura when they sought the arrest of the culprits responsible for Bargari sacrilege. Scores of Sikhs were injured in this unprovoked firing, while several got handicapped for a lifetime.
On the recommendations of Justice Ranjit Singh led Investigation Commission, an FIR about this incident was registered under sections 307, 323, 324, 326, 341, 201, 218, 120B and 34 of the IPC and Sections 27, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act at the Kotkapura police station on August 7, 2018, as per the complaint lodged by a victim Ajit Singh.
It is pertinent to note here that the SIT had earlier filed three charge sheets against this incident’s perpetrators.
The first charge sheet was filed against Umranangal and former SSP Charanjit Sharma in May 2019. The second charge sheet (supplementary) was filed in June 2019 in which six persons, including former Akali MLA Mantar Singh Brar and SP Baljit Singh Sidhu, were named as accused.
In the third charge sheet, the SIT had named then SHO and Kotkapura DSP for the offense of tampering with the evidence in the case.
