On December 27 at around 9 AM, a 22-year-old youth identified as Arshdeep Singh allegedly tried to run away with Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at a newly established Gurudwara Baba Bidhi Chand at Eena Kheda village in Malout division. As per reports, the youth, who is allegedly mentally challenged, allegedly picked up Shri Guru Granth Sahib and ran with it. His father and other volunteers stopped him in the courtyard.
Granthi Gursewak Singh said in a statement that he went to his room at around 9 AM. During that time, Arshdeep Singh, son of Sevadar Santokh Singh, reached the Gurudwara. He first allegedly disrespected the weapons placed in front of the Guru Granth Sahib and then picked up Guru Granth Sahib. He ran towards the courtyard but was overpowered by Granthi and his father. After taking Guru Granth Sahib from him, they placed the holy book at its place.
The accused served at the Gurudwara with his father. The Gurudwara comes under Baba Bidhi Chand Nihang Singh Dal. The accused was taken to the Baba Avtar Singh, chief of Baba Bidhi Chand Nihang Singh Dal. The matter was not reported by the Gurudwara administration. It was only after the villagers came to know about the incident at night, the Police were informed.
When the Police reached the Gurudwara to take stock of the matter, the villagers had already gathered outside. It is noteworthy that the Gurudwara where the incident took place was established recently. Shri Guru Granth Sahib was illuminated at the Gurudwara around 15 days ago. There were no CCTV cameras installed on the premises.
While the father of the accused said that the accused was mentally ill and he tried to kill himself twice, the villagers were not ready to believe him.
Speaking to OpIndia, DSP Jaspal Singh said, “The incident took place at around 9 AM, but the Police were informed at around 8:30 PM. We have detained the accused, but as he is mentally challenged, the Granthi has not recorded any statement yet.”
Sacrilege cases that lead to mob lynching in Punjab
Recently, two back-to-back incidents of alleged sacrilege were reported in Amritsar and Kapurthala, Punjab. In both cases, the accused was beaten to death by the angry mob. On December 18, a young man jumped the railing at Akal Takht in Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara, Amritsar and attempted sacrilege. He was apprehended by the volunteers and devotees. Later, the dead body of the accused was placed outside Gurudwara.
Another case was reported on December 19, where a man was beaten to death for allegedly disrespecting Nishan Sahib at a Gurudwara in Kapurthala. However, the initial investigation revealed that there was no evidence of sacrilege. The man was mentally challeged, and possible went to Gurudwara for free food which is served at langars.
