Senior Badal & Akshay can appear before SIT at place of their choice

Days before the former Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal was to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing sacrilege and related firing incidents, it has given a reprieve to the Akali nonagenarian by asking him to choose a place of his choice for the interrogation.The decision was taken considering Badal’s old age, and the available options under the law. Badal has been summoned by the SIT, probing the police firing incidents at Behbal Kalan in 2015 on the sacrilege issue.SIT member and the Punjab Police IG Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh has said that written information in this regard has been sent to the senior Badal. As per the initial summon orders, issued by Kunwar Vijay on November 11, Parkash SinghBadal, his son and SAD president Sukhbir Badal have been asked to appear before the SIT at Amritsar Circuit House on November 16, and November 19 respectively.Besides the Badal father-son duo, similar summons were also issued to the Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar to appear before the SIT on November 21. “Considering Badal’s old age, we have written to him to give his choice of place for the interrogation. We are yet to receive any response from him,”  Kunwar Vijay is reported to said.The development assumes significance as the SAD, a day before, lashed out at Kunwar Vijay for “utterly unprofessional, unwarranted and politically propagandist utterances about the appearance of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal”.The party accused him of “publicly acting on a political dictation of his present masters and merely speaking the lines given to him by his political bosses”.Meanwhile, Kunwar Vijay has also made it clear that Akshay Kumar has to appear before the SIT and his detailed statement on the micro blogging website, Twitter, would not be enough. The SIT has, in fact, also given a relief to the Bollywood actor by also giving him an option to give his choice of place for interrogation “anywhere in Punjab”. Akshay, in a detailed statement on Twitter to clarify on the allegations of mediating between the controversial Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and SAD president Sukhbir Badal, maintained that he had never met Ram Rahim “in my life, anywhere”.Akshay’s name was mentioned in Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report on the sacrilege incidents, but the panel could not take cognizance of the allegations as it was not backed by an affidavit by the informant.The Commission has taken on record a letter and subsequent testimony by one Harbans Singh Jalal, who among other things, talked about a meeting between the Bollywood actor, a senior Punjab politician and Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim SinghHe had informed that the meeting was held at the Akshay’s residence in Mumbai for the release of Ram Rahim’s “Messenger of God” in Punjab before the grant of pardon to the Dera chief as the movie was expected to do business of Rs 300 crore, if released in the state.After the recommendations of the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report, the Punjab Government had set up a SIT in September this year to probe the police firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in Faridkot in 2015 after a series of sacrilege incidents in the state from all aspects. In the police firing at Behbal Kalan, two persons were killed.Taking note of the Akshay’s alleged role, the SIT had issued summons to the actor to appear before it on November 21 maintaining that his presence is necessary for the purpose of inquiry into the sacrilege and related firing cases and he needed to give such information relating to the same as he may possess.