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Two pastors among 3 booked for hurting religious sentiments in Batala
The truck carrying the Bibles has started from Jammu; Batala police said the pastors were booked for hurting religious sentiments on a complaint from a local resident
Batala Police have booked three persons, including two pastors, for allegedly outraging religious feelings after a truck carrying more than 53,000 Bibles overturned on the Amritsar Road in Batala on Wednesday late evening. Police said the truck had started from Jammu and was to be unloaded at Khanna Paper Mill in Amritsar.
The accused are Jacob John, pastor of Prathna Bhawan Church in Pathankot; Stephen, pastor of Chamatkar Church in Amritsar; and Anik, a representative of Neel Kamal Enterprises, a Jammu-based firm.
Police added that preliminary investigation showed that the holy books had been sold to a Jammu firm, Neel Kamal Enterprises, as scrap.
Batala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said, “We have found some material containing information about the firm on the holy books. We have registered a case under Sections 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.”
He added that they have sought permission from the department to conduct raids outside the state to nab the accused. The case has been registered on a complaint from Peter Masih of Batala.
Masih said, “The truck driver is illiterate, but has confessed that the books were to be unloaded at the Khanna Paper Mill. Police should investigate the mill’s role. The book’s covers were torn and they were sold at ₹3.5 lakh. This might be a big scandal and the police should investigate the matter thoroughly.”
Police have preserved the recovered holy books. The SSP said the books will respectfully handed over to Christian community leaders.
