Pages of ‘Gutka Sahib’ found scattered in Phagwara; case registered

Phagwara superintendent of police Mukhtiar Rai said the complaint was received on Wednesday morning; added that they have registered an FIR and started investigation

Phagwara police on Wednesday registered a case after pages of a Sikh religious book were found scattered near the old civil hospital building here.

Phagwara police on Wednesday registered a case after pages of a Sikh religious book were found scattered near the old civil hospital building here. (Image for representational purpose)

Some sweepers found pages of ‘Gutka Sahib’ scattered under a tree near the hospital, the police said.

The FIR has been registered under Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the IPC against unknown person(s).

According to locals, some sweepers found pages of ‘Gutka Sahib’ scattered under a tree near the old civil hospital’s abandoned building. A few pages were torn, said Baljit Singh, who runs a shop in the area.

Phagwara superintendent of police Mukhtiar Rai said the complaint was received on Wednesday morning. “We have registered an FIR and started our investigations. We are also scrutinising CCTV cameras installed near the area to catch the offenders soon,” he added.

Calling it a planned incident, Sukhdev Singh Phagwara, a Sikh activist, said, “This is an act of provocation and we have asked the police to trace the culprits till Saturday. If no progress is made till then, all Sikh organisations will launch a protest from Sunday.”