'No faith in CBI investigation in Bargari sacrilege case': Capt Amarinder Singh

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said that his government has no faith in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in Bargari sacrilege case.

Singh also declared that his government would not, at any cost, allow the Badals -- a reference to former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal -- to prevent the investigations in Bargari sacrilege case from going back to the Punjab Police.

According to an official statement, Singh said that the state has no faith in the CBI in the sacrilege case.

"Even as the state government formally contested in the court, the CBI's decision to hand over the Bargari investigation to a Special Investigation Team (SIT), the CBI, clearly acting under pressure from the Central government at the behest of the Badals, was quite obviously trying to stop the probe from going forward," he said.

"The decision to hand over the case to a new SIT three months after it had filed a closure report in the court is a clear ploy to delay the probe and stop the state government from taking over the case," Singh said.

He said that his government would continue to oppose the CBI in the court and will also fight, at all levels, to get the case back to the state.

"We will not let anyone get away with cheating the people of Punjab out of their due justice," he said.

According to the statement, the Chief Minister also came down heavily on the Akali leadership, particularly Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, saying that she should either persuade the Centre to send the case back to the state or should resign.

Singh reminded her that her party (Shiromani Akali Dal) was part of the unanimous decision of the Vidhan Sabha to withdraw the case from the CBI.

"Since she claimed to be a vociferous protector of Sikh rights and sentiments, she should prove her credibility by fighting within the central government to get the Bargari case back to the Punjab Police for a fair probe," he added.

Hitting out at the CBI, Singh said that the agency had exposed itself to be totally partisan and unfair in the entire affair.

He pointed out that despite repeated pleas and efforts from the state government in the wake of the closure report, the national agency failed to return the case files to the Punjab Police.

"The failure was clearly deliberate and mischievous, so that the agency could buy time to divert the case to the new SIT, for its eventual burial," he said.

He further said: "The CBI has been acting entirely under the influence of the Badals, which negates any possibility of a fair and thorough probe into the case." He added that justice can now only be meted out if the state police investigate the matter.

"For three years, the CBI failed to make any headway in the case despite all the powers and means at their disposal, and then filed a closure report without completing the investigation. And when we decided to duly take the case back from them, as per the decision of the Vidhan Sabha, they have done a complete U-turn again by reopening the case and handing it over to their own SIT," said the Chief Minister.

"We will fight the CBI tooth and nail, and will ensure that the investigation is taken to its logical conclusion," asserted Singh.