Jalandhar, July 8 -- The special investigation team (SIT), probing the 2015 Behbal Kalan firing and sacrilege cases, on Tuesday quizzed BJP leader and former Union minister Vijay Sampla for three hours at the Punjab Police Officers Institute in Chandigarh. This was Sampla's second appearance in the past 15 days before the SIT, headed by Bathinda deputy inspector general of police Harjit Singh. He was briefly questioned on June 23 at the PAP, Jalandhar. Sampla was previously summoned on June 28, but failed to turn up. After his appearance, Sampla said the SIT showed him the BJP's memorandum that was submitted to the then Punjab governor on January 12, 2018, seeking a probe into the firing and sacrilege incidents by a sitting Supreme Court judge. "The questioning was mere wastage of time and energy. That memorandum was jointly signed by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal and me as the then state president of the BJP. However, I sought a certified copy of the memorandum from the SIT so that I could cross-check the veracity of its content," Sampla said. Sampla added that he has been repeatedly requesting the SIT to provide certified copies of the documents, indicate the specific record they want him to respond to, and explain his alleged connection with the matter. "Without examining the documents, it will be improper and irresponsible to make any comments," he said. "I even pointed out that in today's age of artificial intelligence and digital technology, documents can easily be manipulated. Therefore, only a certified copy can be relied upon. Despite this reasonable request, the SIT refused to provide one," Sampla said. He accused the Punjab government of politically exploiting the sensitive issue to divert public attention from its failures and the criticism faced by the state government over recent developments concerning decisions of the Akal Takht and other religious issues. Sampla maintained that neither he nor the BJP had any direct role in the Behbal Kalan incident. "The investigation must be conducted fairly, transparently and without political vendetta," he said. On Monday, the SIT questioned former SAD MLA Mantar Singh Brar, who represented the Kotkapura assembly constituency in 2016. The SIT summons come amid fresh momentum in the investigation. On June 11, the SIT recorded a statement from former Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, who claimed SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had previously admitted to wrongdoings before the temporal seat....