Kotkapura firing case: Arguments on bail pleas of Badals conclude, verdict tomorrow

Chandigarh: In the Kotkapura firing case, Former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s anticipatory bail pleas to evade arrest were debated for nearly three hours in a court here today after they were named as accused in the Kotkapura firing case.

Additional Sessions Judge Rajiv Kalra adjourned the hearing of the case till March 15 after concluding arguments on the bail applications.
A verdict in the case is likely to come on March 15. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) today told the court during the arguments that Sukhbir Singh Badal and Parkash Singh Badal had hatched a conspiracy in the Kotkapura firing incident and during the investigation, it was revealed that before the assembly elections in 2012, the Badal government tried to get votes by giving a clean chit to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief in the case.
The probe team said if Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal are released on bail, it is likely to affect the trial and its witnesses.
Senior advocate R S Cheema, appearing for the former chief minister, told the court that the accused had appeared before the SIT thrice during the investigation and they had fully cooperated during the investigation and were ready to face the case if the accused were granted bail till the ongoing trial.
Apart from this, the bail of former Faridkot SSP Sukhminder Singh Mann was also discussed. Mann also pleaded not guilty in his bail application. The investigation team has accused Mann of executing the conspiracy.