Sidhu releases Kotkapura CCTV footage, wants action against Badals
Chandigarh, Sep 6 : Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday released CCTV footage that he said showed police action against peaceful protesters and subsequent firing leading to the death of two youths in Kotkapura in October 2015 following sacrilege incidents.
Sidhu demanded action against then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was Home Minister at that time in the SAD-BJP government, in the matter.
The Cabinet Minister said that the four-hour footage obtained from four cameras at the Kotkapura crossing clearly showed that those protesting against the sacrilege cases were peacefully sitting on a dharna in the town and it was the Punjab Police that started a cane charge, used water cannons and later fired at them.
The former cricketer said that both the Badals should be booked as police could not have taken such action without directions "from the top".
"There is prima facie evidence in Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) Commission report (which probed the firing and sacrilege incidents) to proceed against them," Sidhu told the media here while releasing the CCTV footage.
Sidhu said that it was curious that Justice Zora Singh (retd) Commission set up by the then Badal government had not been given the CCTV footage by the Punjab Police which allegedly told the commission that the footage was not available as closed-circuit television had been damaged due to a truck hit.
"The one-hour footage from each of the four CCTVs has emerged now... it was provided to the Ranjit Singh Commission (set up by the Congress government)," Sidhu pointed out.
The commission report tabled in the Punjab Assembly last month held the police responsible for the use of force on protesters in Kotkapura. It said the police action was "unprovoked, unwarranted and uncalled for".
Sidhu demanded a proper investigation into the firing and action against those who ordered the police to use force.
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MP: Woman, lover conspire to get husband killed; police looking for contract killer
Dhar (MP) (PTI): A 25-year-old woman and her lover have been arrested in the district for allegedly conspiring to kill her husband by hiring a contract killer, police said on Thursday.
The case was solved within 36 hours of the murder though the woman initially tried to mislead the police by claiming that robbers killed her husband, an official said.
Dev Krishna Purohit (28) was stabbed to death on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday at his house in Gondikheda Charan village, about 60 km from here.
Superintendent of Police Mayank Awasthi told reporters that accused Priyanka Purohit (25) was married to Dev Krishna when she was around 15 years old. Priyanka moved to her matrimonial home after attaining adulthood but was unwilling to live with her husband, leading to frequent disputes between them.
During investigation, it emerged that she was in a relationship with Kamlesh (32), the SP said.
The duo allegedly hatched a plan to kill Dev Krishna and hired a man identified as Surendra for Rs 1 lakh do the job, he said
After Dev Krishna was killed, Priyanka told police that unidentified persons broke into the house, attacked her husband with a sharp weapon while holding her captive in another room, and fled with valuables.
But the inconsistencies in her statements raised suspicion, and eventually she confessed to hatching the murder conspiracy, the SP said.
While she and Kamlesh were arrested, police are looking for the contract killer, the official added.
