A granthi (Sikh priest) was arrested within 10 hours of a Sunday-morning sacrilege incident in which torn pages of a ‘gutka’ (book of essential Sikh hymns) were found near his house in Adampur’s Ward 7.
“Accused Gurjeet Singh had bought the ‘gutka’ from a kirtan darbar (devotional-singing function) on Saturday at Government Senior Secondary School for Girls in Khurdpur village, a few kilometres from where we found the torn pages on Sunday morning,” senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harmohan Singh told the media. “The man has accepted that he threw it near the village canal.”
Police claim the name of Gurjeet Singh also cropped up in a sacrilege incident reported in Adampur last year. They are yet to find out his motive. For that, they will seek his custody from a local court on Monday.
Nirankar Singh, a local, was first to spot the torn pages. Superintendent of police (investigation) Parminder Singh Bhandal took a heavy police force to the spot and called forensic experts. A case under Section 295-A (Acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at Adampur against Gurjeet Singh.
This is the district’s second sacrilege incident in one week. On September 24, more than 200 torn pages of a ‘bir’ (copy of Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib) were recovered from the Bist Doab Sub-canal, and three mutilated copies of ‘gutkas’ were found nearby. Sikh bodies blocked traffic for two days after that.
{{/usCountry}}This is the district’s second sacrilege incident in one week. On September 24, more than 200 torn pages of a ‘bir’ (copy of Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib) were recovered from the Bist Doab Sub-canal, and three mutilated copies of ‘gutkas’ were found nearby. Sikh bodies blocked traffic for two days after that.
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