Granthi among two booked for sacrilege

The police booked a youth under sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion), 295-A (intended to outrage reli­gious feelings) and 297 (trespass in any place of worship), and the granthi of the gurdwara has been booked under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC

The Patiala police booked two persons, including a granthi (priest) of a gurdwara, for a sacrilege incident reported on Thursday in Mohalgarh village here.

According to the FIR, the incident took place around 2 pm on Thursday. (iStock)

The police booked a youth under sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion), 295-A (intended to outrage reli­gious feelings) and 297 (trespass in any place of worship), and the granthi of the gurdwara has been booked under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

According to the FIR, the incident took place around 2 pm on Thursday. After solemnising a marriage, the granthi went to a marriage place in Ambala for other rituals. Accused Harpreet Singh, alias Happy, entered the gurdwara premises and committed the crime.

Local AAP MLA Harmit Singh Pathanmajra said, “We will make sure that the accused gets strict punishment as per law. Apart from this, there has been a sheer negligence on the part of the gurdwara granthi.”

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and said: “CM Bhagwant Mann must take exemplary action to stop such incidents.”

SHO Kulwinder Singh said, “We have already arrested accused Harpreet Singh and a case has also been registered against the granthi for negligence.”