Haryana government submits Parkash Singh Committee's report to HC

CHANDIGARH: Haryana government today submitted Prakash Singh Committee's report on the widespread violence during the Jat protests and a status report on investigations into the alleged Murthal gangrapes to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in sealed cover.

The reports were submitted in the court of Justices S S Saron and H S Sidhu which fixed June one as the next date of hearing in the case.

The hearing witnessed heated exchanges between amicus curiae Anupam Gupta and state government's counsel Lokesh Sinhal, with the former summoning Parkash Singh, Haryana DGP K P Singh and Additional Chief Secretary Vijay Vardhan, or alternatively, their affidavit on a deposition by Sukhdev Dhaba's owner Amrik Singh on the Murthal gangrapes.

Head of the state government's Special Investigative Team told the court that Amrik had broken down during six hours of interrogation but had denied the gangrapes.

The amicus curiae, however, told the court that he had been informed Amrik had told Prakash Singh, K P Singh and Vardhan off-camera that women, with their clothes in shreds, had come to his dhaba on the night of February 22.

The court had taken suo moto cognizance of media reports that claimed that women were gangraped in Murthal on National Highway-1 during the violent protests.