Justice (Retd.) Ranjit Singh hands over report to Punjab CM Amarinder Singh | Chandigarh | June 30, 2018 [FILE PHOTO USED FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY]

Sikh News

Punjab Govt. To Table Justice Ranjit Singh Commission’s Report in State Assembly

By Sikh Siyasat Bureau

July 26, 2018

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh has said that the Justice Ranjit Singh (Retd) Commission Report on the beadbi cases in the state will be tabled in the next session of the Vidhan Sabha and legal action will be taken against all those found guilty by it.

In an informal discussion with a group of senior party leaders on Wednesday (July 25), Capt. Amarinder Singh said that the government had so far received the first part of the report, which was under legal scrutiny. He said the remaining parts of the report are expected soon and once received, the complete report would be tabled, along with the action taken report, in the ensuing session of the Vidhan Sabha.

The chief minister said, “legal action will be taken against those found guilty and none will be spared”.

The chief minister stated this while interacting with party leaders, including Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Rana Gurjit, Kikki Dhillon and Pargat Singh.

Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh Commission had submitted the first part of his report, pertaining to Bargari sacrilege incident and the Behbal Kalan firing incident, along with some other important cases, to the Chief Minister on June 30. The Chief Minister had forwarded the report to the state Home Secretary and the Advocate General to examine the findings and suggest action so that the guilty can be brought to book at the earliest.

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About Bargari Beadbi Incident, Behbal Kalan Firing and Commissions of Inquiries Setup in this Matter :

Bargari Beadbi Incident: A saroop of Guru Granth Sahib was stolen from village Burj Jawahar Singh Wala on June 01, 2015. After which some posters were pasted in that village challenging Sikhs to find the stolen Saroops. On October 12, 2015 Beadbi of Guru Granth Sahib was committed in Bargari village and it is believed that the culprits committed beadbi of Saroop that was stolen from village Burj Jawahar Singh Wala.

Police Firing at Behbal Kalan:

On October 15, 2015 the Punjab police had opened fire Sikh sangat staging a sit-in on a local road leading to Behbal Kalan village on Kotkapura-Bathinda road. Two Sikhs namely Bhai Gurjeet Singh of Sarawan village and Bhai Krishan Bhagwan Singh of Niamiwala village were killed in this firing while several other Sikhs were injured. The Sikh protesters were demanding action against culprits of Beadbi of Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari.

Justice Zora Singh Commission:

The then Punjab government led Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and BJP government had formed a commission led by Justice Zora Singh to probe the incident. The commission had submitted its report on July 2016 but it failed to find the culprits of Beadbi incident at Bargari or those responsible for police firing at Behbal Kalan village.

Justice Ranjit Singh Commission:

After assuming power in Punjab, the Congress party government led by Capt. Amarinder Singh announced to scrap the report submitted by Justice Zora Singh and announced to form another commission led by Justice Ranjit Singh. The commission was appointed in April 2017 and it was required to submit its report with in six month but the commission submitted one of four parts of its report on June 30, 2018.

People’s Commission Led by Justice Markandey Katju:

Various human rights groups of Punjab had formed a ‘people’s commission’ led by former Supreme Court of India (SCI) judge Markandey Katju. Justice Katju commission had held the high-ups in Punjab police as responsible for the police firing at Behbal Kalan. But People’s Commission’s report was neither recognised by the SAD (Badal) government nor by Capt. Amarinder Singh led Congress government.

EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNTS: