On Monday, April 24, an incident of sacrilege has come to light in Punjab from a Gurudwara. A Sikh man entered the Gurudwara wearing shoes and started beating the granthis reciting Shri Guru Granth Sahib. The incident took place at Morinda in Ropar district. After the incident, the people present in the Gurudwara caught the youth and thrashed him for his sacrilegious act.
After the incident, the people of the area started protesting on the road in Morinda as the situation in the area became tense.
The motive behind the young man’s action is not clear as yet and police are questioning him to find out more details.
CCTV footage related to this incident, which took place at Kotwali Sahib Gurudwara in Morinda town in Ropar district, has come to the light as well. It is clearly visible in the CCTV footage that around 1.15 pm, the Sikh man entered the Gurudwara wearing shoes. As soon as he entered the Gurudwara, the young man started moving straight towards the two granthis who were reciting Sri Guru Granth Sahib and started telling them to leave the Gurdwara.
Before anyone could understand anything, the young man reached behind the holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib by leaping over the steel grills and started beating the two granthis sitting there. He continuously slapped both of them in front of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. In a fit of anger, the young man also disrespected Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
All this happened so quickly that the Sangat chanting in the Gurudwara did not understand anything at all. After this, in a hurry, the Sangat present there caught hold of the young man, beat him up and dragged him out of the gurudwara.
As soon as the information about the incident was received, the police also reached the spot and took the youth into custody.
This incident of sacrilege enraged the people of Morinda and they have started protesting on the road. The situation in the town is very tense as a result. The people sitting on the dharna alleged that the police wanted to declare the young man mentally unstable while the youth’s actions were very intentional. People said that till action is not taken against the youth, they will not end the protest.
Taking strong notice of the incident, Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami has demanded strict and exemplary action against the accused person. Principal Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami said that Sri Guru Granth Sahib is highly respected by Sikhs, but it is sad that the incidents of disrespect/sacrilege are not stopping.
Dhami said that due to the lax action taken by the government against the accused persons previously, such forces are getting emboldened. Harjinder Singh Dhami said- If strict punishment is given, then no one will have the courage to commit the crime.
