In a significant development, the Amritsar police on Sunday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against sixteen individuals, including former top officials of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), concerning the case of 328 missing saroops (copies) of the Guru Granth Sahib.
Details of the FIR and Accused
The FIR was filed at the C Division police station under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The charges include sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship), 295A (deliberate acts hurting religious feelings), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 465 (forgery), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).
The named accused include Dr Roop Singh, the then chief secretary of the SGPC; Manjit Singh, the then secretary of the Dharam Parchar Committee (DPC); Gurbachan Singh, the then vice-secretary; Stinder Singh, the then vice-secretary of finance; and others like Nishan Singh, Paramjit Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Juzhar Singh, Baaj Singh, Dlabir Singh, Kamaljit Singh, Kulwant Singh, Jaspreet Singh, Gurcharan Singh, Stander Singh, and Amarjit Singh.
Political Assurance and Public Morcha
This police action comes after an assurance given by three senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders. Inderbir Singh Nijjar (former minister and Amritsar South MLA), Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, and Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains visited the site of the 'Panthic Hoqua' – a protest morcha initiated by Baldev Singh Wadala of the Sikh Sadbhavna Dal.
Wadala began this protest on November 4, 2020, demanding justice for the missing saroops. Expressing hope after the FIR registration, Wadala stated, "Today I am hopeful that justice in the case of the 328 saroops which went missing will be delivered."
Echoing the sentiment, AAP leader Inderbir Singh Nijjar emphasized, "Granth Sahib belongs to everyone. The religious sentiments of Sikhs were severely hurt with the reports of 328 saroops of Guru Granth Sahib going missing, and they have the right to know and expect justice to be delivered."
SGPC's Strong Condemnation and Warning
The FIR, however, has been met with sharp criticism from the SGPC, the apex religious body of the Sikhs. SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami termed the action as the Punjab government's unwarranted intervention in Sikh institutions.
Dhami clarified that the matter was purely an administrative issue of the SGPC and had already been resolved. He stated that the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhism, had conducted an inquiry into the matter. Departmental action was taken against some employees based on the findings, which reportedly pointed to financial misconduct, not sacrilege.
"The participation of government representatives in this long-standing matter and their attempts to issue directions are politically driven," Dhami asserted. He warned the AAP government to stay away from Sikh institutions, stating, "Qaumi institutions belong solely to the Sikh community, and any attempt at government interference will not be allowed to succeed."
The SGPC chief also appealed to the officiating jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, to take note of this government interference in a matter already settled per the Akal Takht's directives.
The case has now escalated into a major point of contention between the state government and the Sikh religious body, setting the stage for a potential legal and political confrontation over the jurisdiction and handling of internal religious administrative matters.
