Drop proceedings in Behbal Kalan police firing case, pleads cop

Faridkot, April 3

In the Behbal Kalan police firing case, the accused police officer, Bikramjit Singh, the then SP(D), Faridkot, today pleaded in the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Faridkot, for dropping the proceedings in the case due to non-compliance of high court directions.

The accused police officer claimed that the high court in its orders of April 2021 and July 2022 had said the investigations in both Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan police firing cases of 2015 were intrinsically connected and the SIT in Behbal Kalan firing case was feeling handicapped in the absence of material evidence collected in the Kotkapura case. Therefore, it added that the SIT in Kotkapura case shall conduct the investigation as per the directions issued by the high court and submit report of the investigation to the competent court at the earliest.

Manoj Bajaj, counsel for the SP, claimed that SIT in Behbal Kalan case will proceed to conduct further investigation and shall submit report under Section 173 of the CrPC before the trial court, whereupon the accused police officer would be at liberty to address arguments at the time of framing of charges and seek appropriate order in accordance with the law.

The present case cannot proceed till the time the prosecution puts before the court the SIT report, he claimed.

Asking the court to keep proceedings in Behbal Kalan case in abeyance, former SSP Charanjit Sharma, another accused in the case, claimed that he had already moved an application in the high court to transfer the trial of this case from Faridkot to Chandigarh due to security reasons. While the orders on this case transfer application has been kept reserved by the court, the proceedings have been kept in abeyance till further orders.

The Faridkot court has adjourned the case to April 20, waiting for the high court orders on the SSP’s application.