Two cases of sacrilege of sacred religious texts were reported from Moga and Bathinda districts, police said on Friday.
In the first case, the Moga police arrested Ram Singh of Jhanduke village, Mansa, for allegedly committing sacrilege of Sikh holy text Sri Gutka Sahib at Sukhanand village in the district. Based on the complaint of Jaswinder Singh of Sahoke village, the cops registered a case against the accused under Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Samalsar police station.
The complainant stated that the accused, who lives at a nearby ‘dera’, late on Tuesday night tore and threw three copies of the sacred text on the ground. “We immediately informed the police, and a case was lodged against him,” he said.
In the second case, police found scriptures revered by the Sikh and Hindu communities lying in a garbage dump in Bathinda on Friday.
Bathinda SSP BS Virk said the holy texts, including Sri Gutka Sahib, Hanuman Chalisa and Shiv Chalisa, were not torn or damaged. He said a few idols of Hindu deities and photographs of Sikh gurus were also found near National Colony.
The religious material was found in a plastic sack, he said adding that a case has been registered under Section 295-A of the IPC against unidentified persons.