Four Punjab Police officers booked for murder in Behbal Kalan firing incident

Chandigarh : The Punjab Police on Saturday booked four of its own officers on charges of murder and attempt to murder in the Behbal Kalan firing incident of 2015 in Faridkot district.

"Acting on the recommendations of the Justice (retd.) Ranjit Singh Commission, the Punjab Police has included the names of four police personnel in the FIR registered in 2015 in the Behbal Kalan firing incident," a Punjab government spokesman said on Saturday.

The officers are Charanjit Singh (then SSP Moga; now retired), Bikramjit Singh (then superintendent of police, Fazilka), Inspector Pardip Singh and sub-inspector Amarjit Singh.

The officers have been booked for murder, attempt to murder and various sections of the Arms Act.

Their names were included in the first information report of the firing incident following directives of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

The Commission, in its first report submitted to the Chief Minister last month, had named these four police officers and recommended that they be named as accused in the FIR and proceeded against as per law.

Earlier the FIR at police station Bajakhana in Faridkot district stood registered against unidentified police personnel.

"In accordance with the recommendations of the Commission, the roles of five other police officers, namely, Inspector Harpal Singh, the then SHO Ladowal, and constables Shamsher Singh, Harpreet Singh, Gurpreet Singh, and Parminder Singh, all gunmen of Charanjeet Singh, the then SSP, will also be thoroughly investigated," the spokesman said.

Two people were killed in police firing and several others injured in violent clashes during protests against incidents of sacrilege of the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib.

The protests brought Punjab to a standstill in October 2015 with radical Sikhs and others blocking highways and roads for days together.

The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government was in power (2007-2017) during that time in Punjab.