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Moga sacrilege case: Three dera followers challenge conviction
Punjab Police special investigation team opposes acquittal of two co-accused; notice issued for September 29
A month after their conviction, three Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda followers have challenged a lower court order sentencing them to three years in jail for the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib at Malke village in the district’s Baghapurana sub division in 2015. The special investigation team (SIT) of Punjab Police has also challenged the acquittal of two other dera followers, who were co-accused in the case.
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On July 7, the court of judicial magistrate first class Rahul Garg convicted and sentenced dera followers Prithvi Singh of Baghapurana, who was a member of the Sirsa-based dera’s state committee, and Malke residents Mithu Singh Maan and Amardeep Singh for sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. Two other co-accused, Satnam Singh of Baghapurana and Davinder Singh Harie Wala village, were acquitted for want of evidence.
The dera followers and the SIT have filed applications challenging the lower court order on separate grounds in the court of additional district and sessions judge Atul Kasana, who put the state on notice for September 29.
“Perusal of judgment of the lower court shows that appellants were convicted and sentenced under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Notice of the appeal be given to the state for September 29. Record of the learned lower court be also summoned,” Kasana said in the order.
“We have challenged the order acquitting two other accused in the case. We have enough evidence to push forward and get them punished as well,” said inspector Dalbir Singh, a member of the SIT that probed the sacrilege incident.
On November 4, 2015, torn pages of Guru Granth Sahib were found scattered on the streets of Malke village in Moga district, amid a string of similar incidents at Bargari in Faridkot and Gurusar in Bathinda, triggering statewide protests.
The SIT led by then director general of police Ranbir Singh Khatra arrested Prithvi, Mithu and Amardeep for their involvement in the case in October 2018, while Satnam and Davinder were arrested in December that year. A chargesheet was filed against the five the same month.
In July 2019, a local court framed charges against them.
Mohinder Pal Singh Bittoo, a dera follower who was arrested in another case in 2018 and named in the Malke case too, was killed by two inmates in the Nabha jail in June 22, 2019.
Three other accused — Sandeep Bretta, Pardeep Kler and Harsh Dhuri, who are the Sirsa dera’s national committee members — were declared proclaimed offenders (PO). The trio is accused of conspiracy in five sacrilege cases of 2015, including Bargari in which dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been named as the main conspirator.
According to the SIT probe, the trio had met Prithvi and instructed him to carry out the theft and desecration of Guru Granth Sahib at Malke village.
