1 arrested in 2022 church desecration case
On August 31, 2022, the statues of Lord Jesus and Mother Mariam in a church in Thakkarpura village of Tarn Taran was vandalised. Jaswinder Singh, alias Munshi, of Talwandi Sobha Singh has been arrested while efforts are on to arrest three others.
The Amritsar rural police on Sunday claimed to have solved the 2022 Tarn Taran church desecration case with the arrest of the key accused, Jaswinder Singh, alias Munshi, of Talwandi Sobha Singh in the district.
Divulging details, director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said, “Police teams have also recovered an illegal 9 mm pistol along with a magazine and two live cartridges, a motorcycle and a mobile phone from the possession of the arrested person.”
On August 31, 2022, four unidentified persons with their faces covered had vandalised the statues of Lord Jesus and Mother Mariam in a church in Thakkarpura village of Tarn Taran and fled after setting the pastor’s car on fire. An FIR (number 148) was registered on the same day under Sections 295-A, 452, 427, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 25 of the Arms Act at the Sadar Patti police station.
Yadav said that during preliminary investigations, accused Jaswinder Munshi revealed that he, along with his associate Gurwinder Singh alias Afridi of Tut village and two others, had committed the crime. Further investigations are on, he said.
Sharing operation details, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Amritsar rural, Satinder Singh said that following an intelligence input that Jaswinder was going on his bike to deliver a weapon consignment, police teams laid a special checkpoint in the area falling under the Chatiwind police station and managed to arrest him after recovering a pistol. Police teams are on a manhunt to nab Gurwinder Afridi and two others involved in the desecration of the church, he added.
A fresh FIR (number 71) has been registered under Section 25 of the Arms Act at the Chatiwind police station.