Local sangat and the management of Gurudwara Nanaksar in Bhagupur Havelian area of Ajnala town of Amritsar district caught a man accused of sacrilege on Wednesday. The police have arrested the man after he was handed over by local sangat to the police, although the locals had initially refused to hand him over. The accused, apparently in his twenties, was initially kept in a room in the gurdwara as the people wanted to interrogate him themselves. The alleged sacrilege incident took place at 2 AM and was recorded on the CCTV camera.
What is seen in the footage?
It was seen in the recording that the accused man entered the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Gurudwara when granthi Hardiyal Singh was not there. He picked up Guru Granth Sahib and picked it on a table. After that, he took the Chaur Sahib. He then picked up the warm cloth Rumal Sahib (the sacred winter cloth) and walked away with it. The whole sequence has been recorded on the CCTV camera. Soon spotted, he was caught by the people after which he was thrashed and detained in a room of the Gurudwara.
The locals demanded questioning him in public
As soon as the police got the information about the incident, a heavy police force reached the spot. The police troop was led by Manoj Kumar (SP – investigation) and Ravinderpal Singh (DSP Attari). A large number of Sikh activists were also present at the spot soon after the incident took place. The people gathered were not allowing the police to arrest the accused. Instead, they were demanding a questioning in public. However, the police managed to arrest the accused acter convincing the locals.
The accused was found mentally unfit and seemingly under the effect of some drugs, said police. The locals who caught him said that the man consumed some pills immediately after he was caught by them, which can be drugs.
Locals alleging the central government
As the number of alleged sacrilege incidences in Punjab is increasing, locals are making different claims and allegations as to why such things are happening repetitively. One such allegation came from locals in the current case where it was claimed that the accused may have done this act in exchange of money. A local person has said that the person who was killed on Singhu border had allegedly told that twenty people including have been assigned for attempting sacrilege in exchange for money. He also went on to allege that such acts are promoted by the central government and are intended to create unrest in society. Similar claims were made in connection with the sacrilege incident that happened at Nizampur Gurudwara in the last month. It was said that nine persons were paid Rs 10 lakh each to attempt such acts of sacrilege.
The updates from police
However, no such things have been ascertained by the local police. Police have said that they are keeping a strict watch on the spot and the situation is under control. SP Manoj Kumar has said, “The accused has not been telling his identification. He appears mentally unfit. Those who caught the accused have told us that he consumed some pills apparently drugs, immediately after being caught. The Sikh activists have demanded his interrogation in their presence, but we have a system and we can’t interrogate the accused in public. We are yet to file a case in this regard as the Sikh activists have repeatedly been demanding his questioning before giving their statements.”
Apolice officer said that the accused appears to be from UP or Bihar and police have not found any document from his possession with the help of which his identity and the whereabouts could be traced. The DSP said that this is a case of sacrilege with CCTV footage as the primary proof and further action will be taken as per the law. The SP has also said that the police have questioned the accused and he is not giving any satisfactory response to the interrogation. The SP informed that police are also in talks with the Sikh activists and the case will be investigated thoroughly. OpIndia contacted the police station and when asked about the case, the police informed that they will soon bring the accused in front of the court.
This incident comes after two incidents of lynchings for alleged sacrilege in Punjab last month on two consecutive days. While an alleged sacrilege attempt was seen in the first incident in Golden Temple, it has been found that a mentally unstable man was beaten to death for stealing some rotis from a Gurudwara, and he was falsely accused of sacrilege in a Gurudwara in Kapurthala.
