Member of SIT probing 2015 sacrilege cases dubs SC verdict 'moral victory'

A senior Punjab IPS officer, who is a member of the SIT probing 2015 desecration of religious text and police firing incidents, has described the dismissal of CBI's plea by the Supreme Court in the sacrilege matter as "moral victory".

The Supreme Court had on Thursday dismissed the CBI's plea challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court order by which it had last year refused to interfere with the Punjab government decision to take back all sacrilege cases from the central probe agency.

"Truth always triumphs," Inspector General of Police Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh posted on his Facebook page.

"With the Supreme Court verdict in Bargari case coming in our favour, definitely, it is our moral victory," Singh wrote.

"We are ready. No matter how powerful the guilty is, every challenge will be fought strongly. There can be delay in legal process, but justice will surely be done," he said.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said in the Punjab Assembly on Thursday that the Special Investigation Team of the Punjab Police would now probe into the cases of the desecration of religious texts and police firing incidents in 2015 as the Supreme Court has rejected the CBI plea to investigate them.

The CM had also assured the House that the SIT investigation into the 2015 sacrilege incidents at Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala villages and police firing incidents at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura in Faridkot would be taken to its logical conclusion.

Two persons, who were part of the anti-sacrilege protesters, were killed in the police firing at Behbal Kalan in 2015.

Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh is a member of the SIT probing the 2015 sacrilege and police firing incidents. The five-member SIT is led by Director Bureau of Investigation Prabodh Kumar.

After the Punjab Assembly in 2018 passed a resolution to withdrawing probe from the CBI, the state government formed the SIT and handed over the matter to it for investigation.

During 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Akalis had lodged a complaint against IG Singh with the Election Commission for making comments related to the SIT probe in the media.