Sukhbir Badal Skips Behbal Kalan Probe Appearance, AAP Sees 'BJP-Akali Collusion'

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal's failure to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing case has triggered a fresh political slugfest between the Punajb's ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the SAD in Punjab.

Badal did not appear on medical grounds and also sought time after September 30.

The confrontation began after Sukhbir Badal, who had said a day earlier that he was not afraid of facing the SIT, did not appear before the investigating team on the scheduled date.

The AAP seized on his absence to question his willingness to cooperate with the investigation, and alleged that the development reflected a "behind-the-scenes alliance" between the BJP and the Badals.

The SIT is probing the police firing at Behbal Kalan village in Faridkot district on October 14, 2015, in which two protesters were killed while on a dharna against the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib at nearby Bargari village two days earlier.

The firing took place when the SAD-BJP coalition was in power, with Parkash Singh Badal as Chief Minister and Sukhbir Badal as Deputy Chief Minister holding the Home Affairs portfolio that controls the police. This firing and the police action against protesters at Kotkapura the same day have since been examined by successive SITs, the latest tasked by the AAP.

In a post on X, the AAP alleged that the BJP would help Sukhbir Badal get a clean chit in exchange for the Akali leadership backing the three controversial farm laws, which triggered a prolonged farmers' agitation and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of farmers in 2020-21. Those laws were also the reason the SAD gave for exiting the BJP-led NDA at the time.

AAP leader Anurag Dhanda launched a sharp attack on the SAD chief, saying the then SAD-BJP government was responsible for firing on the protesting sangat and said the "legal account" of Sukhbir Badal's alleged actions was still pending. Dhanda then said "jail is not far".

The Akali Dal, however, has rejected the political narrative being built around Badal's absence and questioned the timing of the summons. SAD chief spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said Sukhbir Badal had already appeared before the Behbal Kalan SIT three times and accused the government of deliberately creating a narrative that he was not cooperating with the investigation.

Kler said the party had submitted a written request to the SIT asking it to provide a questionnaire so that people of Punjab could know what exactly the investigating team wanted to question Sukhbir Badal about. He also questioned the timing of the summons, linking it to several controversies currently confronting the AAP government.

Kler alleged that whenever the government comes under pressure from the Opposition, attempts are made to shift the political narrative. He cited allegations of corruption linked to the Chief Minister's Office, allegations concerning the Chief Minister's wife and a rape case, and the continuing controversy over Punjab's drug crisis. He also referred to the recent death of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur after he had raised questions over the drug menace, as well as allegations of police torture involving Mohanjeet Singh after he questioned the prevailing drug situation.

According to Kler, these controversies had put the government under serious political pressure, and the latest summons to Sukhbir Badal was being used to divert public attention.