The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing cases has summoned former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal to appear before it on July 20.

Reacting to the notice, Sukhbir said he would appear before the SIT as many times as required in the interest of justice.

The development has sparked a controversy after a Punjab Government spokesperson said the SIT summoned Sukhbir based on a statement BJP leader Vijay Sampla gave last week. The spokesperson claimed Sampla denied signing a memorandum jointly with Sukhbir for submission to the Punjab Governor.

Sampla strongly denied the claims. He described the message circulated to the media as false, baseless and a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.

He said it was a serious matter if someone holding a political appointment in the government knew what he had told the SIT. He said this showed the state government was playing politics over a sensitive issue and exploiting religious sentiments, with little real interest in securing justice for the victims.

Sampla also questioned why a politically appointed person was briefing the media on SIT proceedings when the Punjab Police have already designated media teams and authorised officers at the state and district levels for this purpose. He said any information relating to the SIT should come only through official police channels.

The spokesperson said the SIT was also examining the sequence of events leading up to the police crackdown on protesters in October 2015. Former Akali Dal MLA Mantar Singh Brar had earlier told the SIT that he spoke to the then Chief Minister, Home Minister and Director General of Police before the crackdown, sources said.

The Officer on Special Duty to then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had also told the SIT that the order to remove the protesters was issued at night, the sources said. Investigators consider this significant in establishing who authorised the use of force and when the decision was taken.

The Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing incidents took place in October 2015 during protests over the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib in Faridkot district. Two protesters were killed in the police firing at Behbal Kalan and several others were injured.