Many questions remain unanswered pertaining to the CCTV footage shared by senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, which allegedly shows ADCP Harpal Singh of Amritsar Police with former deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal’s assailant, Narain Singh Chaura on two consecutive days outside Golden Temple before the attack on Badal. Majithia has released CCTV footage from December 3 and 4 claiming that it shows ADCP Harpal Singh in close conversation with Narain Singh Chaura on both days. The Akali leader has questioned why the police officer did not isolate Chaura and keep him away from Sukhbir when it was well known that he harboured antipathy towards him and he had criminal antecedents. On its part, the Amritsar Police has maintained silence on the questions raised by Majithia and the CCTV footage released by him and has not challenged its authenticity. When asked, Commissioner of Police (Amritsar) GPS Bhullar, cryptically commented that every remark made need not be replied to. He maintained that the investigation into the attack on Sukhbir was being conducted meticulously and that all transparency was being maintained. Majitjia, on the other hand has pooh-poohed the claims of Amritsar Police. Speaking to The Indian Express, he asked why ADCP Harpal Singh had not been questioned with regard to his interaction with Chaura a day prior to the attack and an hour before he fired upon Sukhbir. “Amritsar Police needs to explain what was its officer doing with the assailant before the attack took place. What kind of security cordon had been thrown by Amritsar Police when their own officer who was supposed to keep Sukhbir Badal safe was consorting with the assailant on two consecutive days right where Sukhbir was performing the ‘tankhah’ awarded to him? When it is well known that he has criminal antecedents and he has posted his hate for Badal family on social media why was he allowed to be in Sukhbir's vicinity?” Majithia asked. The Akali leader said that they have no faith in the police inquiry and said the claims of Punjab Police and the CM Bhagwant Mann that the police showed ‘mustaidi’ (alertness) is laughable. “Here we have an Amritsar Police officer chatting with the assailant and not escorting him away from the scene well knowing his past criminal record. Another policeman can be seen in the footage following Chaura inside Golden Temple and making some signs,” he said. Majithia said Chaura had also been spotted at Golden Temple on June 2. “I have information that he also met ADCP Harpal Singh in his office recently. I am ascertaining more details in this regard,” he said. He also said that the bomb attack on police station in Majitha on the day Sukhbir was attacked has been falsely claimed to be a tyre burst by the Amritsar Rural Police. “What tyre was being inflated at 11 pm in night? Does the police station have an air compressor to inflate tyres? There is evidence that an explosive device similar to that used in the blast in Chandigarh outside a night club owned by singer Badshah was used in the Majitha police station,” Majithia said. Mocking the remarks of Amritsar CP that the attack could have been engineered to evoke sympathy for Sukhbir, Majithia said in that case the ADCP Harpal Singh was also hand in glove in this conspiracy because he had full knowledge of Chaura’s presence and yet did nothing. Getting threats from BKI: Majithia Majithia said that his personal staff and he were getting phone calls from callers from abroad who claimed to be from Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) who are threatening them on why they are blaming Chaura and why Chaura’s turban got removed while he was taken into police custody after he attacked Sukhbir Badal. “Here is a situation where the fact that Chaura fired upon a protected person in a sacred place is being ignored and more emphasis is being laid on the assailant. I have apprised the DGP about this and will also be writing to him in this regard, said Majithia.
