Reacting to the recent letter written by Punjab Inspector General of Police (IG) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh to Punjab DGP and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) mentioning details of witness allurement by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) on Sunday demanded that security be provided to the witnesses of Bargari sacrilege case.
“The sentiments of millions of people have been connected with the 2015 Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege case in Bargari, which nowadays is taking a different turn of events. IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh’s letter on witness allurement has exposed SAD and SGPC thus also raising questions on the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh,” said AAP’s Punjab unit president Bhagwant Mann.
Taking a dig at Capt Amarinder, Mann said that as the Punjab Government failed to put up the case properly in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, it should at least provide safety to the witnesses related to the case. “At least the witnesses should feel safe, their family should feel safe, so that when they go to the Court for hearing, they should not feel any pressure or allurement,” he added.
Mann said that IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap had also highlighted threats that he faced, but Capt Amarinder had also not given any clarification on it. “If an IG level officer was getting threat calls, then who will save the common people, the witnesses,” he questioned.
He said that the need for witness protection is crucial in the present case as the accused are influential and highly powerful.
Slamming the SAD, Mann said: “If they (SAD) claim themselves as innocent, why are they alluring the witnesses and doing such activities.”
Also assuring the witnesses of legal aid, Mann said that AAP will provide all sorts of assistance to them. Meanwhile, seeking action against SAD and SGPC, Mann said that the organizations, who claim to be religious and traditional, are doing such activities of alluring the witnesses.
“The sentiments of millions of the people are connected to this case and the Captain government and the Punjab DGP should take immediate action on the letter and on the witness which are being allured by the SAD and the SGPC,” he said.