A local resident was arrested on Thursday for allegedly committing sacrilege after tying a torn page of a Gutka Sahib to a devotee’s clothing inside the Golden Temple complex.
The accused, Mandeep Singh of Shaheed Udham Singh locality, was seated behind an elderly Sikh woman inside Akal Takht Sahib. After prayers, the woman’s husband discovered a torn ‘ang’ (page) of the holy scripture tied to the rear flap of her suit. They immediately alerted the sewadars who took them to the CCTV control room. After the footage scan, the victim identified the perpetrator as her neighbour following which the police were informed and he was arrested from his residence. “We received a complaint from Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee employee Simarjit Singh, who is serving as helper, about the incident. We arrested Mandeep after registration of an FIR under relevant sections at the Kotwali police station.
Mandeep’s mother claimed that her son has been suffering from schizophrenia since 2015 and that has been under mental distress.
The matter is being investigated thoroughly”, said assistant commissioner of police (ACP-central) Surinder Singh. She said the family possesses medical documents regarding his condition and urged that his mental health be taken into consideration.
The accused, Abhijit Singh, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, allegedly picked up a sword displayed in front of Guru Granth Sahib. On June 10 this year, a 19-year-old youth was held for allegedly attempting to commit sacrilege at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Gurbakhsh Singh, located within the Golden Temple complex.
Before the accused could carry out any further act, vigilant sewadars overpowered him and handed him over to police.
Preliminary findings by the SGPC suggest the page was torn outside and brought into the complex. SGPC chief secretary Kulwant Singh Manan strongly condemned the act, demanding strict action and an investigation to expose potential conspirators behind recurring sacrilege bids.
