Akal Takht jathedar alleges dera chief’s name dropped from FIR

Punjab Police SIT probing Bargari sacrilege says Gurmeet Ram Rahim was not named in FIR number 128 so no question of removing him

Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Wednesday questioned the Punjab government’s motive behind removing Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s name from a case registered in connection with the Bargari sacrilege incident while filing a chargesheet in a Faridkot court.

Giani Harpreet Singh, the acting jathedar of Akal Takht, was addressing reporters in Amritsar on Wednesday. (HT file photo)

“Recently, a new SIT formed by the state government has filed a chargesheet in connection with FIR number 128 by removing the dera (sect) chief’s name. It is causing suspicion. Politics is at play. Why was his name removed quietly? Is it for taking mileage in the 2022 elections?” the head of the highest temporal seat of Sikhs told reporters in Amritsar.

He said the special investigation team (SIT) should reply why the dera head’s name was allegedly taken out while filing the chargesheet.

The statement assumes significance as the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) rarely speak against the Sirsa dera head over his role in the sacrilege issue.

The SIT, headed by inspector general of police (IG) SPS Parmar had filed a challan in connection with FIR number 128 against the six dera followers.

The jathedar said, “When the Bargari sacrilege incident took place, I was the head-granthi at Sri Muktsar Sahib. I had witnessed the incidents and subsequent protests. The then SIT, led by deputy inspector general Ranbir Singh Khatra, had registered FIR number 63 in connection with the theft of the saroop from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Kotkapura. Besides Mohinder Pal Bittu, the dera head was named an accused in the FIR. Later, another FIR number 128 was registered regarding the sacrilege. The Punjab and Haryana high court termed both the FIRs as co-related. The SIT questioned the other accused named in FIR number 63, but not the dera chief, why?”

Demands shifting dera chief to Punjab jail

He said that he was surprised that Panthic organisations were also mum on the issue. “It is our demand that the dera chief be shifted from the Haryana jail to a Punjab jail for his strict questioning. There is a deep conspiracy, a conspiracy to win the 2022 elections. I appeal to all Sikh organisations to speak up against this. There may also be the involvement of the Centre to absolve him,” the acting jathedar said.

Since August 2017, Gurmeet Ram Rahim is undergoing a 20-year sentence at Sunaria jail in Rohtak for raping two followers. In January 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula had sentenced him and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

Won’t allow politics over sacrilege

The jathedar said, “We will raise this issue during a meeting of more than 100 Sikh organisations at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib on Friday. We will not allow any party whether it is the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Aam Aadmi Party or the BJP to play politics over the issue.”

Won’t name anyone without evidence: SIT head

When contacted, IG Parmar said, “Ram Rahim was never named in FIR number 128 so there is no question of removing him. We have filed a chargesheet against six accused who were arrested in May and also named three members of the dera’s national committee as conspirators. They are absconding. It is a must to file a chargesheet within 60 days after the arrest of the accused. Our investigation is on and this is only the first chargesheet. More people will be named in the course of investigation and supplementary chargesheets will be filed. With the arrest of the three conspirators, we will try to find out at whose instance the crime was committed. If they name the dera chief or any evidence comes out against him, we will name him also. I will not name anybody without evidence as was done by some officers previously, because we have to prove it in court,” he said.

He said politically motivated statements should be avoided and facts should be checked otherwise it leads to distrust among people.