Actor Akshay Kumar has been summoned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Punjab police under under section 160 of the code of criminal procedure in connection with the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case. The actor, who is currently gearing up for the release of 2.0, will be questioned by the SIT on 21 November.
“The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the police firing incidents in the wake of the Bargari sacrilege case has summoned the Badal father-son duo and actor Akshay Kumar for questioning in connection with the investigation next week,” the Punjab government announced on its official Twitter handle.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the police firing incidents in the wake of the Bargari sacrilege case has summoned the Badal father-son duo and actor Akshay Kumar for questioning in connection with the investigation next week….(1/2)
— Government of Punjab (@PunjabGovtIndia) November 11, 2018
“While former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has been asked to appear before SIT on November 16, former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has been summoned on November 19 and Akshay Kumar has been asked to come on November 21, at the Circuit House in Amritsar…(2/2),” the Punjab government informed in another tweet.
..While former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has been asked to appear before SIT on November 16, former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has been summoned on November 19 and Akshay Kumar has been asked to come on November 21, at the Circuit House in Amritsar…(2/2)
— Government of Punjab (@PunjabGovtIndia) November 11, 2018
Tensions grew in Punjab in 2015 after the first incident of sacrilege came to light on June at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in the Faridkot district. Then on 12 October, 110 pages of the Guru Granth sahib, the sacred book of the Sikhs, were desecrated in the Bagari village in Faridkot. Soon, more such incidents were reported through out the state.
On 14 October, two Sikh protesters were allegedly shot dead by the police while they were peacefully protesting. There were more casualties in the ensuing face-off between the protesters and the police. After initially suspecting controversial godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, the police ruled out the involvement of the group in the desecration and the subsequent violence.
After coming to power, chief minister captain Amarinder Singh had vowed to carry out a special probe into the incidents. The Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) Commission, which was constituted by the Congress government to investigate the incident, had recorded a statement of a person who claimed that Akshay mediated in getting Akal Takht’s ‘pardon’ for Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who was then accused of blasphemy for appearing before the congregation dressed as Guru Gobind Singh sahib in 2007.
While Ram Rahim Singh had moved into the same locality that Akshay lives in, the actor has denied knowing the godman personally. Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year sentence for raping a sadhvi at his ashram in 2002.
Efforts to contact Akshay’s publicist yielded no response.