With the sentencing of three Dera Sacha Sauda followers to three-year jail in a sacrilege case by a Moga court, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Thursday, said the “nefarious protection” of culprits by Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress is “finally over”.

Welcoming the court’s verdict, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha reiterated that justice prevailed in the AAP rule under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Blaming the previous governments for the sins committed in the state, Chadha said the Akalis allowed it to happen, while the Congress shielded the guilty. Finally, the AAP government made sure that the guilty of “beadbi” are sentenced to jail, he added.

“Justice has prevailed in the Courts today. Beadbi (sacrilege) accused sent to jail. Now, it is for the court of the people of Punjab to sentence the political persons who were complicit in the beadbi by their action or inaction,” said Chadha.

The sacrilege case dates back to 2015, when torn pages of the holy Guru Granth Sahib were found on the streets of Malke village in Moga district. Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Punjab Police had identified the accused as Prithi Singh, Mithu Singh and Amardeep Singh, all Dera followers.

Meanwhile, questioning the role of the previous governments, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema said the Congress and the Akali Dal never wanted to deliver justice to the people of Punjab in these sinful cases.

“While the sacrilege in Malke village was reported in 2015 during the SAD government, the Congress formed the government on the promise of delivering justice on it. However, they did nothing during their regimes. It is only the AAP government that ensured that the accused get the punishment they deserved,” Cheema said while addressing a press conference here.

Cheema said that the Congress and the Akali Dal were in cahoots in covering up each other’s crimes for decades. But the AAP government broke this nexus and hence the accused will get exemplary punishments for their crimes, he added.

It was because of the shoddy investigation under the previous governments the case could not reach its logical conclusion, the minister concluded.