Sacrilege cases: Punjab Congress legislators seek Harsimrat's resignation

Punjab Congress legislators on Sunday demanded Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal's resignation from the Union Cabinet over the CBI's failure to further investigate sacrilege cases against three followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda.

Last week, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a closure report in the three Bargari sacrilege cases in the special CBI court in Mohali.

Three Dera followers -- Mohinder Pal Bittu (who was recently murdered in Nabha jail), Sukhjinder Singh and Shakti Singh -- were accused in the cases.

The legislators, comprising Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, slammed Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal for "shedding crocodile tears" over the issue.

In a joint statement here, they said that if Sukhbir Badal was feeling so agitated over the closure report by the CBI, he should ask his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal to resign from the Union Cabinet as the CBI falls under the Central government's purview.

Randhawa said the CBI was protecting the Badals who were the alleged main conspirators in the case.

In October 2015, the then SAD-BJP government in the state decided to hand over three cases of sacrilege in Bargari to the CBI.

While fixing the next date of hearing on July 23, defence counsel Vivek Gulbadher said the CBI court has sought the entire record of the case.IANS