Chandigarh, May 6 (PTI) Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday said he took part in the hearing of a committee headed by a retired Punjab and Haryana High Court judge probing into the February death of farmer Shubhkaran Singh.
Shubhkaran (21), a native of Bathinda, was killed in clashes at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21. The incident occurred when some protesting farmers were trying to head towards police barricades, put up to halt their “Delhi Chalo” march.
Later, Punjab and Haryana High Court formed a committee headed by Justice (Retd) Jaishree Thakur to probe into the death.
The committee is being assisted by Additional Director General of Police (Punjab) Promod Ban and his Haryana counterpart Amitabh Singh Dhillon.
Bajwa, one of the petitioners in the case, said he participated in the hearing and conveyed the anguish of Shubhkaran’s family and that of the farmers who were “brutally and unlawfully” injured by the Haryana Police on February 21.
“I am committed to relentlessly pursuing justice and holding those responsible for this heinous act accountable,” Bajwa said.
Meanwhile, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said two farmers present at the Khanauri border at the time recorded their statements before the committee.
The committee visited the place of the clash on April 18 and asked witnesses to submit their evidence and provide statements.
However, farmers from Punjab expressed apprehension about appearing before the committee at a venue in Haryana. Following this, the committee fixed Kisan Bhawan in Chandigarh as its venue for recording the statements.
The high court on March 7 formed the committee, saying the investigation regarding the death of Shubhkaran could not be entrusted solely either to Punjab or to Haryana for “reasons obvious as both states have several things to cover up”.
The order said the committee would give a report as to whether which of the police authorities would have jurisdiction to investigate the death since the place of occurrence and the death firstly had to be confirmed as one state was shirking its responsibilities whereas the other was yearning to get its hands on the investigation.
The cause of death of Shubhkaran and from which type of weapon the bullet/pellet emanated would also be within the domain of the committee.
It will also examine whether the force was commensurate with the situation and give its report. PTI CHS VSD SZM
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.