Greater than 5 years since 328 books (or full copies) of Guru Granth Sahib had been reported Lacking or destroyed in Punjabthe difficulty has change into a flashpoint between the Aam Aadmi Get together authorities and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
SGPC is the one official writer of Birs, and it was from its publishing unit in Amritsar {that a} copy of the holy e-book was first allegedly misplaced in 2016. A subsequent 2020 investigation discovered that much more copies had been untraceable than beforehand claimed.
SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami on Saturday slammed the AAP authorities over the registration of an FIR within the case and accused it of interfering within the administrative powers of the gurdwara apex physique to realize “political positive aspects”. In response, AAP accused the SGPC of not cooperating with the Punjab Police in its investigation.
On December 7, the Punjab Police registered an FIR within the case beneath sections protecting desecration of locations of worship or sacred objects, intentional and malicious act supposed to harm spiritual sentiments, felony breach of belief, forgery, felony conspiracy, and so forth.
The FIR names 16 folks, together with former SGPC principal secretary and chartered accountant Satinder Singh Kohli, who was arrested on Thursday. On Saturday, the particular investigation crew investigating the case carried out raids at 15 places, together with premises linked to Kohli.
In an announcement on Saturday, Dhami denied any hyperlinks with the 16 folks named within the FIR. “However the SGPC is concerned and your entire report lies within the Akal Takht…My solely problem is jurisdiction. This can be a query of SGPC’s jurisdiction,” he mentioned, questioning the summoning of SGPC officers and search of data by the police.
On December 28, 5 jathedars gathered on the Akal Takht secretariat to ban the SGPC from cooperating with the police amid renewed protests demanding solutions.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann mentioned the FIR was filed after a number of Sikh organizations demanded an investigation to search out the lacking Birs. Asking why the SGPC couldn’t discover them, he accused the SGPC of “utilizing the Akal Takht as a defend” to rescue these near their “masters”.
Kohli, recognized to be a detailed ally of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, was eliminated as SGPC’s inside auditor in 2020 after he was discovered at fault for overlooking the mishandling of Birs.
AAP vs SGPC
The conflict between AAP and SGPC over this problem isn’t the primary such occasion amid political modifications within the state and SAD’s declining affect.
What set the tone for his or her relationship was the Punjab Meeting passing the Sikh Gurudwara (Modification) Invoice to make sure “free tv broadcast” of Gurbani from the Golden Temple in 2023 (a yr after AAP first got here to energy in Punjab).
Mann described the transfer as marking an finish to the monopoly of Badal-related personal channels on Gurbani broadcasting.
Quickly after, Mr. Mann attacked Mr. Badal for sharing SGPC checking account particulars to hunt donations for flood reduction efforts within the state. He mentioned it was “shameful” that an SAD chief dedicated such an act as an alternative of being an official SGPC consultant, and mentioned this justified AAP’s place that one household was controlling the SGPC.
Mr. Mann additionally straight criticized the SGPC, stating on quite a few events that if ‘goraks’ (donation containers) had been faraway from gurdwaras, members would lose curiosity in serving the neighborhood.
Final yr, the Man authorities and SGPC clashed once more, this time over the 350th anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom. The Sikh apex physique objected to the federal government holding a parallel operate to mark it.
Fashionable Sikh politics started with the institution of the SGPC in 1920, and the Badals have for the previous three many years derived their affect and energy from their management over the physique. The SAD is at present going through an existential disaster and believes that sustaining a majority within the SGPC-elected Home of Representatives (whose time period expired a while in the past) is the important thing to its survival.
The unrest has given rise to hopes of overthrowing the SGPC from a number of Sikh teams, with requires the SGPC elections, which had been final held in 2011, to be held as quickly as attainable. In reality, the AAP authorities began the method of registering SGPC voters final yr, despite the fact that the elections aren’t but in sight.
elevate the fever
The AAP authorities is constructing momentum on the Bir case amid questions over the truth that its excessive guarantees to prosecute SAD leaders on a number of expenses, besides former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, haven’t been fulfilled. Neither occasion has been promised justice within the Bargari blasphemy case.
Furthermore, latest outcomes present that SAD has been preventing as a left wing throughout the occasion, ending second within the Tarun Taran by-election in November and performing nicely in Bathinda and Muktsar districts in December’s zilla parishad elections.
The SGPC can also be weak on the Invoice problem because it didn’t take any decisive motion to ‘comply with up’ regardless of directions from the Akal Takht. This stays the largest purpose why the issue by no means ends.
case
On June 26, 2020, activist Sarabjit Singh Verkha of Punjab Human Rights Group alleged that SGPC coated up the destruction of Constructing 267 within the 2016 publishing division hearth. Verka claimed that the SGPC downplayed the harm to guard Badal as a result of 2016 was an election yr.
The following day, the SGPC admitted that Kanwaljit Singh, the retired deputy superintendent in control of ledger administration, had reported 267 folks lacking from the constructing from its data, however denied any hyperlink to the 2016 hearth. On June 29, 2020, Kanwaljit filed a criticism with the police towards SGPC officers for “protecting up” the lacking Delivery.
Over the following two weeks, beneath mounting stress, the SGPC govt committee requested the then Akal Takht Jathedar to nominate a retired decide or distinguished Sikh to analyze. The duty drive, ordered on July 17, 2020, submitted a 1,000-page report a month later (printed with permission however untraceable after printing) stating that 328 Payments had been certainly lacking.
A further 186 sheets had been printed with out permission utilizing leftover uncooked supplies and offered with out invoices or data, it mentioned.
