Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday claimed that those convicted in the murder of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra were brought to justice only after the SAD govt led by Parkash Singh Badal assumed office in Punjab in 1997 and facilitated the testimony of the sole witness in the case by providing him police protection.Addressing a press conference, Badal alleged that a “deliberate misinformation campaign” was launched to defame the SAD, asserting that it was the party that created the conditions leading to the conviction of Khalra’s killers. He claimed that the sole witness, Kuldeep Singh Bachra, a special police officer (SPO), did not come forward to record his statement during the Congress govt due to pressure from the political and police establishment. According to Badal, Bachra testified only after the SAD govt provided him police protection, while the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) extended legal and financial assistance. He also claimed that the SGPC provided employment to a member of Bachra’s family.Badal said, “Bhai Khalra was general secretary of the SAD’s human rights wing. He unearthed the manner in which the state govt was presiding over the killing of thousands of Sikh youth by cremating them as unclaimed bodies after eliminating them in fake encounters.”Asserting that the SAD raised the issue of Khalra’s abduction immediately, the SAD president said, “The SGPC wrote to the President and the Supreme Court while then party leader Manpreet Singh Badal raised the issue in the Vidhan Sabha. The Supreme Court treated the SGPC’s representation as a habeas corpus and directed the CBI to probe the case, leading to the arrest of the accused police officers.”In stark contrast, Badal alleged the erstwhile Congress and the present AAP govt tried their best to free the murderers of Khalra and even succeeded in this goal. The leader alleged in 2017, the Congress govt facilitated the release of the convicts through an application that even painted them as ones who fought against terrorism.
