Punjab: Man held for sacrilege incident at historic gurdwara near Amritsar

Chabhal villager arrested for tearing pages of gutka at Gurdwara Bir Baba Budha Sahib, 14km from Amritsar.

Karamjit Singh of Chabhal village was arrested for committing sacrilege by tearing pages of a gutka (a prayer book) at the historic Gurdwara Bir Baba Budha Sahib, 14km from Amritsar, on Saturday.

Karamjit Singh of Chabhal village was arrested for committing sacrilege by tearing pages of a gutka (a prayer book) at Gurdwara Bir Baba Budha Sahib, 14km from Amritsar, on Saturday. (Representational photo)

Gurdwara sewadars (volunteers) immediately caught him and handed him over to the police.

According to eyewitnesses, the Karamjit, who is physically challenged, had come to pay obeisance at the gurdwara as usual on Saturday. Suddenly, he took the gutka from the box and tore its pages before scattering them inside the gurdwara. The sewadars immediately stopped him.

Condemning the incident, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami said sacrilege incidents are consistently happening in Punjab but the state government is silent. “These incidents are hurting Sikh sentiments. It is the primary responsibility of the government to unearth the conspiracy and expose the forces behind such incidents,” he said.

Demanding stringent action against the accused, Dhami advocated exemplary punishment for perpetrators of sacrilege.

SGPC secretary Kulwinder Singh Ramdas said the FIR had been registered under Section 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).