CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has demanded a CBI inquiry into the attack on the cavalcade of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal at Sangrur last week. It also demanded registration of cases against the attackers who have reportedly been identified, along with action against police officers who allegedly helped the accused come close to Sukhbir's convoy. In a press conference held at Chandigarh, SAD leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that video clips of the attack clarify it was executed at the behest of the ruling Congress government in the state.
The leaders questioned how the victim's Z-Plus security was breached and the state police diluted the charges by refusing to book the assailants under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC. Cheema said Sukhbir's security in-charge Harmeet Singh Deol, an SP-level officer, has submitted a written complaint to the Sangrur SSP seeking action into the security breach, but the complaint has not been acted upon. He said, “By stage-managing such incidents, the Congress is trying to show public outcry against Akalis, which is not the reality. The CBI alone can unmask the political conspiracy behind the incident and bring the real culprits to book.”
Cheema added that a party delegation will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to demand action for the breach in Sukhbir's Z-Plus security. “By fiddling with security of political opponents the Congress is setting a wrong trend. We are confident that the people will give a befitting reply to the Congress by taking part in Patiala rally,” Grewal said.
In yet another protest by radicals against former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to Talwandi Sabo, members of radical Sikh outfits in Sangrur had attacked Sukhbir's cavalcade. Around eight persons were injured in the clash between SAD workers and Sikh radicals, three of whom were party workers.
