Amritsar Trust case: Cops oppose Capt plea to shift trial out of state

The Punjab Police on Wednesday opposed a demand to transfer the trial, of the Amritsar Improvement Trust case, to a court outside the state. During the resumed hearing of a petition filed by former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the state government on Wednesday filed its reply opposing the transfer demand. It submitted that the apprehensions and allegations levelled by Amarinder were ill-founded.

Apprehending an unfair trial, Captain Amarinder Singh had requested the High Court to transfer the investigation of the case outside Punjab. The trial is at present pending in a Mohali Court. The former Punjab Chief Minister was booked on charges of corruption, cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy for allegedly releasing 32 acres that belonged to the Amritsar Improvement Trust.

In his petition Captain Amarinder had submitted that the job of a public prosecutor is to assist the court and to inform it if any guidelines were being violated. But, the public prosecutor was under administrative control of the home department of the state government, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Referring to the earlier cases between him and the Badal family, Capt Amarinder said in view of political rivalry between the two, the trial could not be held in a fair manner as the public prosecutor might follow the dictates of the state government and could not be presumed to be impartial.

A Committee constituted by the state assembly had held Amarinder guilty in the same case but later, on his petition, Supreme Court had held the decision of committee as illegal. Amarinder has added that the power centre was the same today and would be ready to hound political opponents.

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