Kotkapura police firing: Ex-SSP moves HC seeking transfer of case to Chandigarh
The high court has issued a notice to the state government on the issue and listed the matter for October 23.
Former senior superintendent of police (SSP) Charanjit Sharma has moved an application in the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking the transfer of the 2015 Kotkapura police firing case to Chandigarh.
After HC transferred the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing case from Faridkot to Chandigarh, the Faridkot session judge on July 19 sent a reference to the high court seeking directions to transfer the Kotkapura firing case as well. However, the trial court is still waiting for a response from the high court.
Meanwhile, the high court has issued a notice to the state government on the issue and listed the matter for October 23.
Disposing of a petition in August 2022, the high court ordered that both the 2015 Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing case trials will proceed simultaneously.
“The prosecution shall submit a report of further investigation to the trial court at the earliest. The trial court shall proceed to take all these (2015 Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing) cases simultaneously on the same day and decide the same in accordance with the law”.
Following this, the Faridkot trial court kept the proceedings on hold in the Behbal Kalan firing case till the SIT probing the Kotkapura firing case filed a chargesheet.
On May 31 this year, the high court transferred the trial in the 2015 Behbal Kalan firing case from Faridkot to Chandigarh. The high court acted on the plea of Charanjit Sharma, who is also accused in the Behbal Kalan case, in 2019 had sought the transfer of the case on security grounds.
The counsel of one of the accused, advocate HS Saini, said that as the Behbal Kalan firing case is already moved to a Chandigarh court and they are seeking the transfer of the Kotkapura case as well.
On October 14, 2015, police allegedly opened fire at people protesting at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan against a sacrilege incident that had taken place at Bargari in Faridkot district. While two Sikh protesters were killed in Behbal Kalan, several were injured in Kotkapura.
SIT led by ADGP LK Yadav has filed a chargesheet against former chief minister late Parkash Singh Badal, his son and former deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and six police officers, including ex-DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in the Kotkapura firing case in February 2023.