Govt gets two more months for Vienna shootout probe

Chandigarh, September 20
Two years after the fatal shooting of a visiting guru at a Sikh temple in Vienna resulted in rioting across northern India, the State of Punjab today told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that 58 accused had been arrested in the case.
Taking a note of the assertion, the Bench of Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Sabina granted further time of two months to the investigating agencies to complete the investigation in all the 75 cases registered at Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar and Ludhiana in May 2009.
Appearing on behalf of the State, Punjab Advocate-General Baldev Singh filed the latest status report by way of an affidavit of Punjab DGP PS Gill. Baldev Singh asserted five special investigation teams had been constituted.
Three of the teams were headed by Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar commissioners of police. In all, 445 persons were examined as witnesses and about 58 accused were arrested.
Efforts were being made to arrest the remaining accused for the completion of investigation. The Advocate-General further submitted that reports or challans under Section 173 CrPC have been filed in 11 cases in Jalandhar district, two each in Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala districts and one case in Amritsar district.
The Advocate-General said the police had to face practical difficulties in the investigation of such cases as persons from the public were reluctant to come forward to depose.
Although the Punjab Police was occupied with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committed elections, the special investigation teams still made best efforts to complete the investigations.
On the Advocate-General’s request, the Bench granted time till November 21 to make further efforts to complete the investigations. As the case came up for hearing, Punjab DGP and the Home Secretary were present.
A petition in public interest has been filed in the matter by Phagwara-based General Samaj Manch.
Guru Sant Ramanand was attacked by six men armed with knives and a pistol during clashes at a religious ceremony at a temple in Vienna. He later succumbed to his injuries in a hospital.