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SGPC observes death anniversary of former takht jathedar Kaunke
Addressing the gathering, SGPC head Harjinder Singh Dhami appealed to the Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh to consider honouring Kaunke
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Monday marked the death anniversary of Akal Takht former acting jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke at the highest Sikh temporal seat.
Addressing the gathering, SGPC head Harjinder Singh Dhami appealed to the Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh to consider honouring Kaunke. “Jathedar Kaunke was a devout Sikh,” he said, in the presence of Kaunke’s wife Gurmail Kaur and Panthic leaders. Kaunke’s wife and his kin were also honoured with ‘siropa’ (robe of honour) on the occasion.
Speaking to the media, Giani Raghbir Singh said, “The SGPC has been asked to take action in the case of the murder of jathedar Kaunke and the murderers must be given exemplary punishment.”
On the occasion, the panthic leaders, including Manjit Singh Bhoma, handed over a memorandum to the Akal Takht jathedar demanding that the responsibility of the former CM Parkash Singh Badal, former deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and former CM Capt Amarinder Singh should be fixed for not taking action in this case.
Recently, the Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO) claimed to have made public the 1999 police report by the then ADGP (Security) BP Tiwari in the case of Kaunke’s ‘disappearance’.
Kaunke was appointed as acting jathedar with the support of pro-Khalistan groups during a ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ (grand Sikh assembly) held on January 26, 1986, when militancy was at its peak in Punjab.
