The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to former Deputy CM of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, former DGP Punjab Sumedh Singh Saini and four others in the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan police firing case, reported news agency ANI. The high court has, however, put certain conditions while issuing the anticipatory bail.
The court directed that petitioners shall not influence, pressurise, or threaten the witnesses, the Police officials, or any other person acquainted with the facts and the circumstances of the case, to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Police, or the Court, or to tamper with the evidence.
The development comes two days after former Punjab deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged "deep-rooted" conspiracy to defame his party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on the issue of sacrilege and the Kotkapura police firing incident is out in the open.
"...Video footage in public realm shows how two persons snatched rifles from Punjab Police personnel and that the bullet which hit a protester on the thigh had been fired at his back even as the police force was confronting the protesters from the other side," Badal said.
"I also wish to ask so-called Panthic leaders like Baljit Singh Daduwal and Dhian Singh Mand who attempted their best to weaken the Shiromani Akali Dal as to why they are silent not protesting against repeated incidents of #sacrilege taking place in the state now?" he added.
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