Terming the Amritsar’s sacrilege incident at Sri Darbar Sahib as most unfortunate, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Sunday said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Law and Order had been constituted, which would present an investigation report within two days. A man was beaten to death by angry devotees after he allegedly attempted to commit sacrilege at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The incident took place during evening prayers on Saturday when the man jumped over the metal railing around the Guru Granth Sahib and allegedly attempted to desecrate the Holy Book of the Sikhs with a sword.
An FIR, under Sections 295A and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been filed against an unknown accused, for the deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings and attempt to murder.
In a second incident of lynching, an unidentified man was allegedly beaten to death by locals at Nizampur in Punjab’s Kapurthala district on Sunday for allegedly disrespecting the “Nishan Sahib” at the village gurudwara. However, Inspector-General, Jalandhar Range, G.S. Dhillon said on Sunday that as per investigations there was no visible sign of sacrilege and police was investigating the allegations.
On the Darbar Sahib incident, Deputy Chief Minister Randhawa held a meeting with Civil and Police officers at Police Lines where IG Border Range Mohnish Chawla, Police Commissioner Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill, Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira, SSP (Rural) Rakesh Kaushal, S. Rajinder Singh Mehta, S. Harjap Singh Suktanwind and S. Sukhdev Singh Bhoorakona from SGPC were also present. After the meeting, the Deputy CM said that “it was a very unfortunate incident and the police will get to the bottom of it.”
According to a preliminary investigation, the accused entered the Sri Darbar Sahib complex at 11:30 am and stayed at Parikarma of the holiest shrine. The CCTV footage of markets adjoining Sri Darbar Sahib was also being scanned to ascertain that the accused came from which way and if there was anyone with him, Randhawa said.
The state government will inquire into the incident jointly with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Randhawa also made it clear that the accused was not identified so far and his post-mortem is being conducted shortly. Punjab Police in association with the SGPC will ensure that the Gurdwaras have its CCTV cameras, which should be fully operational, he added.
The Deputy Chief Minister also mentioned that the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution in 2018 to amend Section 298 into 295-A but so far no action had been taken so far by the Centre. He said that Section 295-A had a provision of 10-year imprisonment if anyone indulged in the sacrilege of any religion. The state government will also send a letter to the Centre for approval of Section 295-A.
Meanwhile Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Sunday visited the temple premises to take stock of the situation. CM Channi described the incident as the most heinous act, which has not only hurt religious sentiments but also tormented our hearts, which should be condemned with the harshest possible words by one and all. CM Channi further appealed to the people to take due care and caution to protect the religious places including gurdwaras, mandirs and institutions related to any religion or faith in order to foil nefarious designs of any agency or anti-social element in wake of the forthcoming assembly elections in the state. The Chief Minister also exhorted the people to maintain restraint during the prevailing sensitive situation by demonstrating their unflinching trust in the ethos of peace, harmony, brotherhood and religious tolerance.
Replying to a media query regarding the recurrence of such incidents in the coming days, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said that the state intelligence agencies and the police force are pro-actively engaged to avert such acts of anti-social elements.
As for the Kapurthala incident, addressing a press conference here, Inspector-General, Jalandhar Range, G.S. Dhillon said, “No visible sign of sacrilege at Gurdwara sahib was found. An FIR has been registered under section 295A.” “Information about the attack on police, and man killed being verified. If it appears to be murder then FIR to be registered accordingly,” the IG said.
“As it was a sensitive issue, police used restraint. Those people who managed to do this were more in number than the police. People’s emotional sentiments were high after the incident at Golden Temple,” the Inspector-General added.
A video of people beating up the man who allegedly attempted the sacrilege with the Nishan Sahib has gone viral on the Internet. He was later handed over to the police but some people reportedly insisted that the man be questioned in front of them and the man was allegedly beaten to death in an ensuing scuffle.
Meanwhile, DGP, Punjab, Sidharth Chattopadhyaya said in a Twitter post today: “I have taken serious note of the unfortunate incidents in Amritsar and Kapurthala. Any attempt to violate the communal harmony in the state will be dealt with a firm hand. Stern action will be taken against all those disturbing the law and order in Punjab.”