Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura Firing Case: Vijay Sampla seeks fresh date to appear before SIT
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, August 25, 2026: Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Vijay Kumar Sampla has asked the Punjab Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) to reschedule his appearance in connection with the investigation into the 2015 Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura cases.
Sampla was directed to appear before the SIT on August 27, but in a written response submitted on Tuesday, he said his prior commitments, including BJP meetings and programmes, would prevent him from attending on the scheduled date. He has requested an alternative date in September, with at least five days’ advance notice.
The SIT had issued the notice on August 24 under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), asking Sampla to appear at 11 am at the Punjab Police Officers Institute (PPOI), Sector 32-C, Chandigarh, to record his statement in the two cases.
The cases relate to FIR Nos. 129 and 130 of 2015 registered at Bajakhana police station in Faridkot district. The SIT has also asked the Senior Superintendent of Police, Hoshiarpur, to ensure that the notice is formally served on Sampla at his residence in Shalimar Nagar.
Apart from seeking a fresh date, Sampla has raised questions about the material on which the summons was issued. He has asked the SIT to provide copies of relevant documents referred to in the inquiry, saying access to the material would help him understand the issues being examined and enable him to cooperate with the investigation.
Sampla has also alleged that BJP leaders in Punjab are being “harassed” and has maintained that he has no connection with the matter and is being unnecessarily implicated.
The investigation pertains to the chain of events that followed the theft of a bir of the Guru Granth Sahib from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala in 2015, the appearance of sacrilegious posters in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, and the subsequent discovery of torn pages of the holy scripture at Bargari.
The incidents triggered protests in Faridkot and eventually led to police firing on protesters at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura in October 2015. Two protesters, Gurjeet Singh and Krishan Bhagwan Singh, were killed at Behbal Kalan, while several others were injured at Kotkapura.
The SIT is examining the circumstances surrounding the police action and other aspects of the cases.