The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has reconstituted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing three interlinked sacrilege cases from 2015.
The government has appointed Bathinda Range DIG Harjit Singh as the chairman of the new SIT. It is believed that the government intends to accelerate the investigation into these sensitive cases.
According to orders issued by the Punjab Bureau of Investigation on June 1, Malerkotla SSP Gurmeet Singh, Amritsar ADCP (Special Branch) Harpal Singh, and Sangrur (Rural) DSP Dalbir Singh have also been appointed as members of the SIT. The order directs the team to complete the investigation as soon as possible and take swift action on pending matters.
This decision comes at a time when Harjit Singh has also recently been appointed as a member of a separate SIT investigating the October 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing cases.
This clearly indicates that the state government is placing its trust in experienced officers for the investigation of these high-profile cases dating back to 2015. On June 10—a day after joining the investigation team for the firing case—Harjit Singh recorded the statement of former Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh. This statement was recorded in the context of events surrounding the “confession of guilt” by Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal. Notably, Sukhbir Singh Badal had appeared before the Akal Takht on December 2, 2024, and tendered an unconditional apology for “all mistakes” committed by the party and his government. All eyes are now fixed on the investigation by the reconstituted SIT.
