The head granthi of a Mohali gurdwara who was booked on Tuesday for allegedly solemnising the marriage of an underage boy has been conducting a marriage every alternate day for the past many years, said police.
Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Phase 6 has become a haven for many runaway couples wanting to get the seal of marriage without parental consent. Head granthi Surjit Singh, 65, would have carried on playing cupid, often using notebook sheets to give his seal of approval, had it not been for a couple who sought police protection in the Punjab and Haryana high court.
In the judgment dated August 27, the court stated that a 19-year-old couple who hailed from Moga sought protection and according to the attached documents, their marriage was performed by Surjit Singh.
The judgment further reads, “In the marriage certificate issued by him, he has mentioned the date of birth of boy was 5.10.1998, meaning that he was fully aware that the petitioner was minor at the time of the wedding.”
On the directions of the high court, police booked Surjit Singh under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, for performing the marriage. He was arrested and later released on bail on Wednesday.
Police probing fee charged
In one of the seized registers used for maintaining the record of marriages, police have found that 68 marriages were registered between May 10 and December 27.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Baljinder Singh, Phase-6 police post in-charge, said there are many more such registers that are being inspected as the accused is not divulging any details.
“In all, in 68 cases, the age of groom has not been mentioned by Surjit Singh,” said the ASI. “We have also recovered stamps and certificates from the gurdwara that were being used as official certificate. Some of the marriage registrations have been done on a normal piece of paper.”
{{/usCountry}}“In all, in 68 cases, the age of groom has not been mentioned by Surjit Singh,” said the ASI. “We have also recovered stamps and certificates from the gurdwara that were being used as official certificate. Some of the marriage registrations have been done on a normal piece of paper.”
{{/usCountry}}Police are also probing as to how much money the head granthi charged for solemnising the marriage of runaway couples. “Surjit Singh has also failed to provide any document pertaining to the gurdwara’s registration,” said Baljinder Singh.