Sacrilege row: Amarinder Singh says Punjab govt has no role in SIT summons to Parkash Singh, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Akshay Kumar

Sangrur (Punjab): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said Monday his government had no role in the summoning of the Badals and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar by a special investigation team (SIT) probing a sacrilege and police-firing case three years ago. “The SIT was an independent entity and was functioning without any government interference,” Singh said in response to a question after inaugurating the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospitalin Sangrur. [caption id=“attachment_4252417” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh. AFP[/caption] “The government’s job was to form the SIT as per the unanimous decision of the Assembly,” the chief minister said, adding that the onus of investigation was on the probe team now. The SIT is probing police firings at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in Faridkot in 2015 after a series of sacrilege incidents in the state. Two persons were killed in the firing at Behbal Kalan. On Sunday, it had summoned former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son, Sukhbir Singh Badal and actor Akshay Kumar. To a question on the ongoing teachers’ protest, the chief minister said the government had given a fair offer to teachers to either join regular services as probationers or continue on contract basis. He added that it was up to them to accept or reject the offer. On the issue of shortage of doctors in government hospitals, he said as many as 588 doctors would be posted shortly in all hospitals. The chief minister said he was in favour of posting of doctors close to their place of residence to ensure more effective functioning.