SAD trying to 'sabotage' probe into sacrilege incidents with 'false' complaints: Cong

The Congress Thursday accused the Akali Dal of trying to use the ECI by filing a "frivolous" complaint, aimed to "sabotage" the SIT probe into 2015 sacrilege and police firing incidents.

In a memorandum submitted to Punjab's chief electoral officer, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar urged the ECI to give strict instructions to the SAD to refrain from making "false" complaints and issuing "threatening" statements to intimidate government officers with an intention to cause "obstruction" in free and fair working.

Jakhar was accompanied by four cabinet ministers Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Gurmeet Kangar, Bharat Bhushan Ashu and MLAs Raj Kumar Verka and Davinder Singh Ghubaya.

 

"It (the Akali Dal) is trying to sabotage the investigation by threatening a SIT member with a false and frivolous complaint," Jakhar alleged.

Rubbishing the allegations of SIT being "politically motivated", Jakhar said the Special Investigation Team was working as per law.

He accused the previous SAD-BJP regime of having failed in arresting people involved in desecration of religious scriptures.

The SAD had filed a complaint against IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, a member of the SIT probing 2015 sacrilege and police firing incidents, alleging that he was working at the behest of the Congress to target Akalis.

The party had sought that he should be shifted out of state till elections are over.

The Punjab government in its reply to the ECI said the SIT was functioning independently and the Punjab CEO sent the reply to the commission for taking a call on the complaint.

In the memorandum to the CEO, Jakhar said, "The SAD is desperate to regain its lost ground and wriggle out of the responsibility for the Bargari incidents and they are trying to mislead people and the Election Commission under a very well thought conspiracy."

"The Akali leaders are trying to influence the investigation and they are trying to use the Election Commission as a shield to escape from the grave crimes that they have committed," he alleged.