Man held for ‘throwing’ holy gutka into Golden Temple sarovar
SGPC staff deployed in Golden Temple complex apprehend the man, identified as Ranbir Singh, and hand him over to police
A man was nabbed on Wednesday for allegedly throwing holy gutka (a handbook of Gurbani) into the sarovar (holy tank) of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) staff members deployed in the shrine complex apprehended the man, identified as Ranbir Singh, and handed him over to police, it is learnt.
Terming the incident unfortunate, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said the man who committed the “sacrilege” had shorn hair and threw the gutka sahib into the sarovar after taking it out from his pocket.
The gurdwara body staff claimed to have CCTV footage of the incident.
Dhami added, “I rushed to the SGPC head office in the complex to take stock of the situation. The incident did not happen all of a sudden, but it seems to be a conspiracy hatched to provoke sentiments of the Sikhs and vitiate atmosphere of Punjab.”
“Gurbani teaches everyone life’s ideals. If anyone still desecrates the book, it only shows the kind of depraved mentality they have. The police and the government should expose the forces behind such incidents and stringent punishment must be given to the culprits,” the SGPC chief said.
Even as several such incidents have taken place, the government has failed to act, he said. The police said they are investigating the matter by questioning the man in their custody.