Akshay Kumar on SIT Summons in 2015 Sacrilege Case: Never Ever Met Gurmeet Ram Rahim

New Delhi: Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar on Monday denied having any association with Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the jailed leader of Dera Sacha Sauda, a day after being summoned by a Special Investigation Team which is probing police firing incidents during the 2015 sacrilege controversy.

“I have never ever met Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in my life, anywhere… I learnt from social media at some point that Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh resided for a while at some place in my locality Juhu, in Mumbai but we never ever crossed each other’s paths,” the actor said in a statement on Twitter.

Apart from Kumar, the SIT has also summoned former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal.

While Parkash has been asked to appear before the SIT of Punjab Police on November 16, Sukhbir has been summoned on November 19. Akshay Kumar has been asked to come on November 21 to the Circuit House in Amritsar.

The SIT is probing police firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in Faridkot in 2015 after a series of sacrilege incidents in the state. In the firing at Behbal Kalan, two people were killed.

Notably, the actor's name was mentioned in Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report on the sacrilege incidents.

According to the report, a meeting between former deputy CM Sukhbir and Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with the release of the latter's movie MSG was held at the actor’s flat in Mumbai.

The meeting was held before the pardon given to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a blasphemy case.

The summons have been issued under Section 160 of the CrPC, requiring attendance during the investigation.